Wolf's Rain: Cycles of Sorrow
by dChronologer
Summary: Ch 8 is up! Ch8 preview: The wolves continue their journey in this new city. Can they survive the latest hybrid attack? Literally too much to summarize. (Non yaoi) Please read & review
1. A Whole New Beginning

This story takes place after episode 30 of Wolf's Rain, however, I have left out spoilers and won't reveal anything that has not already been aired on television in America. If you do figure something out by reading my story it is only because you are a smart cookie and figured it out on your own and not because I gave it to you or spoiled it for you. I reloaded Ch 1 and 2 after fixing some errors.   
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain. Though I would be more than content to be a member of the writing team.

Wolf's Rain: Cycles of Sorrow

Episode 01: A Whole New Beginning  
  
        It was a cold day, even at noon, within this domed city that lay far to the north. People bustled about the streets going about their daily lives in the same monotony as always. No one seemed to notice the small newcomer to this frozen city. It was a small boy. He was half frozen from the cold outside and it wasn't much warmer inside the dome.  
        Any human who saw the boy would have guessed his age to be roughly around ten years old. He wore a small yellow jacket with a plain blue shirt underneath, a simple pair of blue jean pants, and ordinary tennis shoes. His hair was dark brown and shaggy. In the back, his hair's length only reached down the middle of his neck while in the front he let his bangs grow long enough to reach the tip of his nose so that it covered his right eye and upper cheek. His eyes were blue and they darted back and forth always searching for the ones he was looking for. His search had finally lead him here to this city in the middle of a frozen wasteland. The ones the boy was seeking just had to be here or all hope was lost for him.  
        He limped along the sidewalks clutching his left shoulder. His jacket was soaked with blood. Occasionally, a drop or two would fall and hit the ground. Every now and then the boy would stumble and fall against one of the walls of the many buildings he passed. He would wince in pain, and then regain his balance continuing on leaving behind a smear of blood on the wall, almost like a trail. None of the people he passed noticed the boy or the blood. It was almost as if they were unable to see him, not that the boy wanted to be noticed. It was easier to search when people didn't get in the way. The boy would stop and ask for help if he needed it, but he still felt he could go just a little further.  
        There was a strange kind of sadness that haunted the boy's eyes as though he had been to hell and back. Some secret horror was eating away at him in the back of his mind. It never left him even for a moment. Then, suddenly, his eyes widened and something resembling hope glimmered in them. He sniffed at the air. The boy could detect a familiar scent in the air. It wasn't the _one_ he had wanted most to find, but still it was one he wished to find. He quickened his pace turning here and there following the scent wherever it lead him. The boy would bump into a wall occasionally, but he ignored the pain and kept running.  
        Eventually, he came to a large open area with huge tree growing amidst of a pile of stone rubble. There was a large hollow at the base of the tree just big enough for a dog or any other type of animal with similar size. The boy moved past the tree and followed the scent into a dilapidated old apartment building. He came into one particular room where the scent was strongest. There was an open window over looking the tree outside and minor debris scattered here and there. To the boy's disappointment the room was devoid of any people other than himself. Crestfallen, he tried to clam himself down while choking back the urge to burst out into tears. The scent was quite strong and still fairly fresh, so the person it belonged to would eventually come back. At least, that is what the boy hoped. He curled up in the middle of the floor laying on his left side and fell asleep. His strength and energy were gone. As he fell unconscious he prayed that the one he was waiting for would return soon.  
        In another part of the city a young man, or at least what appeared to be a young man, parked his motorcycle against the street curb. After dismounting, he headed towards the alley, but stopped when he heard a familiar voice call out his name.  
        "Hey, Tsume!"  
        Tsume turned around looking through his black sunglasses to see a young boy running up to him. _Why does this kid have to follow me all the time_, he grumbled inside himself. The boy stopped a few feet in front of him, panting slightly.  
        "Hi, so what'cha up to?" the boy asked after catching his breath.  
        "None of your business!" Tsume growled.  
        "Aw, come on. Can't I come with you?" the boy begged.  
        "No, you can't," Tsume answered sarcastically. "Now get lost!" The boy started to walk away when a strange sense of deja vu hit him. The boy continued to walk away when he noticed Tsume was watching him. Once Tsume saw the boy's brown hair, red shirt, and brown pants disappear behind the corner of a building he continued further into the alley.  
        "You're not ditching me this time Tsume!" the boy said with a smile as he peered back around the corner he just passed. Tsume was walking away, not paying attention to what was behind him any more. The boy cautiously followed Tsume hiding behind what he could to keep Tsume from detecting his presence. Eventually, Tsume came upon another individual who was wearing goggles on his head. Apparently he had been waiting for Tsume.  
        "Are the preparations for tonight's raid on the east side warehouse complete, Seto?" Tsume questioned the individual.  
        "Yeah, but a lot of the members aren't going to show up."  
        "Why not?"  
        "Well, you know how most of them were injured during the last raid and they still haven't recovered yet. Geeze, you've been driving us like dogs!" Seto complained. "You know, it wouldn't kill you or hurt the gang's moral if you showed a little concern once in a while." Tsume didn't respond. After a few moments the silence was broken.  
        "I'll come along." said a young voice belonging to a red headed kid standing near where Tsume and Seto had been talking.  
        "Fine, suit yourself, Gehl." Tsume answered.  
        "Hey, can I come?" the boy who had been following Tsume called out.  
        "Grr, I thought I told you to get lost!" Tsume shouted at him.  
        "Actually," Seto began, "with Gehl and and that kid over there that doubles the number I was expecting to show up. So, who are you anyway?"  
        "Heh, heh. My name's Toboe. Tsume is a friend of mine!"  
        "Well, Tsume?" Seto asked waiting for his leader's permission. Tsume stuffed his hands into his pockets, hunched his shoulders, and gritted his teeth. He wasn't going to make any attempts at masking his royal irritation with this turn of events. Tsume considered calling off the raid, but he wasn't the type to back down from anything.  
        ". . . damn," he muttered and then growled through his teeth, "Fine. Seto, you fill the runt in on the time and place." Tsume stormed off past Toboe not even bothering to glance at his young admirer.  
        "Tsume . . ." Toboe whispered, "I . . . I didn't mean to make him so mad." The boy dropped to the ground with a pitiful look on his face.  
        "Aw, don't worry about it." Gehl said as walked over to Toboe and bent over patting him on the back. "Tsume, he's just like that."  
        "But," Seto began, "you gotta admit, I've never seen anyone get on Tsume's bad side in such a record breaking short time." Toboe only sulked more at this prospect. Gehl shot an irritated look a Seto.  
        "Well, you're the only person I've ever seen Tsume show that much feeling around. Usually, he's so indifferent like he doesn't care one way or the other about anybody."  
        "I suppose you're right, but . . ." Toboe hesitantly responded. However, before the subject could continue any further Seto changed the topic back to business.  
        Meanwhile, Tsume emerged from the alley and something caught his attention. An old woman was being shoved to the ground by two men. The one who pushed her grabbed the old woman's purse while the other man pulled out a gun. He was going to make sure she didn't scream for help . . .  
        Tsume's reaction was instant. He flew across the street and whacked the gun out of the mugger's hand. The crook yelled in pain drawing back a mangled and bloody hand. Tsume had reverted to his wolf form for only an instant to teach the guy a decent lesson about guns. Immediately following this, Tsume hammered him right in the stomach. The mugger fell to the ground unconscious. Then Tsume turned his attention to the mugger's now terrified partner. The other crook tried running away, but Tsume jumped straight up and over landing right in front of the fleeing man.  
        "H-h-here, take it," the man cried throwing the old woman's purse at Tsume. It bounced off him and fell to the ground.  
        "Humans like you disgust me," Tsume said just before delivering a straight handed chop to the guy's neck rendering him unconscious, as well. Tsume plucked up the old woman's purse and stretched out a hand to her, "You all right?" She took hold of his hand as he helped her back to her feet.  
        "Why, thank you young man--oh ow!" the woman stumbled in pain. While still holding onto Tsume's hand she grasped his arm with her free hand as she shifted her weight, "My ankle, I think I've sprained it." The old woman glanced around on the ground looking for something and finally responded when she found the splintered pieces of wood on the ground. "Oh my, they've broken my walking stick. I-I hate to be a bother, but could I ask you to be a dear and walk me home?"  
        _Damn, how do I get myself into these kind of things_, Tsume thought as he rolled his eyes. "Let's go," he relented.  
        "Oh, thank you so much." The old woman looked up at Tsume for the first time she was wearing a shawl and a scarf around her neck and held it together with a broach. Tsume noticed her gaze was kind and appreciative. "Oh, you're a tough looking one. Did you stop those nasty men all by yourself?" The old woman hadn't seen Tsume make short work of those pathetic excuses for thieves. "Well, anyway you shouldn't hide you eyes with those dark sunglasses," she commented while removing them from Tsume's face. "There, much better!" The woman nodded to herself and decided, "Yes, you're much to handsome to hide behind these ugly things." Tsume just looked at her with a raised eyebrow, slightly confused. He brushed it off and started walking with the old woman placing most of her weight on her young escort. As they continued, the old woman took notice of a few more of Tsume's features. "Hmm, white hair . . . and a cross shaped scar on his chest . . ." she mused silently to herself. "Hey!" she said directing her gaze at Tsume.  
        "What?" he locked eyes with her.  
        "Your name . . . is it Tsume by any chance?" He grunted and gave a slight nod. The old woman's eyes widened, not with fear, but joy. "Oh! You're my little Toboe's friend aren't you?!" Tsume almost missed a step. He was definitely surprised. "I've heard so much about you. He never stops talking about you." Tsume gave her a shocked looked as he caught the implications of this. It meant she _knew_. She knew what he was. The old woman could sense the tension in Tsume's face. "Don't worry, I have no intention of telling anyone. This explains how you got rid of that riffraff back there."  
        "Lady, you do realize what kind of danger you're in, don't you?" Tsume said trying to get some of though guy dignity back.  
        "Yes, I do. The same kind of danger that comes from living with Toboe. Both you and he are wolves. Although at times you might resemble tame dogs, you both are still wild at heart no matter how tame you appear to be. I have always kept this in mind while raising Toboe. No matter how much I want to think of him as my son or grandson he is still wild at heart. I can't hold on to him forever. But, I am so glad that he has made such fine friend."  
        "We're not friends," Tsume insisted.  
        "Well, I would chide you, but I do have to respect the fact that you are wild at heart just like my little Toboe." The old woman looked up into the sky and that is when Tsume noticed it. She used the scarf to hide it, probably for Toboe's benefit. There was a scar on her neck that just barely missed her jugular vein. The old woman caught Tsume staring, "Oh, you weren't supposed to see that," she said fixing her scarf pulling it further up.  
        "Toboe did that?"  
        "He just didn't realize that's all. He didn't know that humans can't play that way. And that . . . was when I realized that I needed to give Toboe the respect a wolf deserves. But regardless of this, I want to thank you for being his friend." Tsume started to protest, but Toboe's granny just talked over him. "He finally has someone else like him and someone else to look up too. He was . . . always so lonely. It was a void I could never fill, and I want to thank you wholeheartedly. You have made Toboe so happy."  
        _I'm gonna be sick if this woman gets any more sappy on me_, Tsume thought as he listened to Granny prattle. Though really it was to mask the tiny pang of guilt that had hit him as the old woman praised him; he knew that, on the whole, he had been rather mean to Toboe. "Look lady, you shouldn't go making a saint out of a sinner." The old woman chuckled to herself.  
        "It's funny that you should choose those words. I know all about the gang activity your involved with. However, I know that you can't always believe everything you hear. And besides if all that here say and conjecture were true I don't think you would have walked me all the way home and saved my life." Tsume hadn't noticed, but they were standing in front of a quaint little house. He walked the old woman up the stairs. She opened the door and grabbed a cane from the inside near the door and let go of Tsume. "If you ever want or need anything you are always welcome here." The old woman reached a hand up to Tsume's face. She moved slowly to give him the opportunity to protest. When she received no objections, she stroked Tsume's head running her fingers through his hair and down the back of his neck. Tsume just stared at her awkwardly and then turned to leave. "Oh wait, you forgot these," she said holding up Tsume's sunglasses. She had been holding them the whole time.  
        "Keep 'em," he said as continued walking and waved without turning around.  
        _Toboe, you have made a very good friend indeed_, Granny thought to herself as she turned and went inside her home.  
        It was still early in the day. Tsume decided to find Seto and call off the raid. Perhaps tomorrow night would be better. It didn't take long for Tsume to track them down. In fact, they hadn't moved from the spot where he left them. Gehl and Toboe were chattering away about why they liked Tsume or what it was they thought was coolest about him. Tsume stood there watching them for a while and then sighed, "Great, now I have to deal with a fan club."  
        "Oh, Tsume." Seto had noticed his leather clad leader standing close by.  
        "I'm calling off the raid. We'll do it tomorrow night. And you tell the others they better be ready!" Seto nodded obediently.  
        "I gotta go," Gehl said and ran off. Seto also walked off leaving Tsume and Toboe alone.  
        "I um, guess I'll be going," Toboe said looking at the ground and started walking past his idol. Tsume rolled his eyes and sighed.  
        "Need a ride?"  
        "What?" Toboe was completely taken off guard.  
        "Ugh, I'm getting pissed off. Just answer to question. Do you need a ride or not?" Toboe smiled and nodded. A few moments later he was riding behind Tsume on a motorcycle with the wind blowing through his hair. Toboe didn't even notice that Tsume knew the way to his granny's house. The young wolf was just enthralled by the whole experience. This was the first time that his role model had actually seemed to accept him. It took a while for them to reach Toboe's home, but it was over far too soon for him and even though he would never admit it, Tsume liked the experience, too.  
        As Toboe got off the bike he turned to his friend. "Tsume, I know this sounds kind of weird, but it feels like we've been friends for a long time." Tsume revved up his motorcycle's engine and speed off. Truthfully though, he felt the same way.  
        On the other side of town, another pair of wolves were having a causal discussion. The two walked along the back alleys munching on some hot dogs one of them had lifted from a not too observant merchant.  
        "Hige, why do I let you keep talking me into eating these things," a young man with dark brown hair and blue eyes complained to his friend.  
        "I told you already, Kiba, in the city this is just about the best you can expect." Kiba was too able a hunter for his own good. After his first hot dog he swore he would never eat another one. However, Kiba hunted out all the rats in the sewers, of course Hige ate his fair share of them as well, and was forced to fall back on what his friend showed him to scavenge.  
        It was about one week ago that Kiba had blown into town and he would have blown right out, but he got into a scrap with Tsume and eventually encountered Hige. Hige convinced Kiba to stay around for a while. He said there was a strange flower scent, but something was masking it. This immediately caught Kiba's interest and so he stayed. The pair would search for the scent and food during the day. Though only a halfhearted effort was made to find the scent because Hige's main priority was food. Kiba just couldn't figure out why he even hung around Hige. He was lazy and didn't take anything serious. But on the other hand, Hige did get Kiba to lighten up once in a while. Maybe that's why they became friends, they were opposites that complimented one another in a weird sense.  
        "Hey is there anything you haven't told me about the flower scent?" Kiba wanted to get down to searching. For some inexplicable reason, he had a growing sense of urgency.  
        "You know now that you mention it, I think there is some sort of project going on in the lab at the center of the city. They said something about a flower maiden, I think." Hige struggled to remember the name.  
        "Cheza," Kiba breathed.  
        "Hey yeah! that's it, but how did you know that?"  
        "I-I don't know . . ." Kiba's voice trailed off.  
        "Is it just me or does this feel familiar?"  
        "You feel it too, huh?"  
        "It's like some kind of deja vu."  
        "What?"  
        "Never mind. Anyway I think that flower maiden project is being run by a noble. There's no way the two of us are going to get inside there."  
        "We have to try."  
        "Kiba are you nuts? That hot dog must have fried your brain." A chill ran up both their spines. This was feeling too familiar.  
        "Let's get going," Kiba decided. They didn't have anywhere in particular to go. The two would just amble around the streets going through sections of the city they hadn't checked before. Suddenly, both wolves caught a scent that startled them.  
        "What the heck is that?" Hige said as his head jerked straight up.  
        "It . . . smells like blood," Kiba noticed.  
        "Yeah, but there's something else mixed in with it." Hige lead Kiba in the direction he smelled the blood coming from. Eventually, the two found themselves staring at a red stain smeared on the wall of a building. "I can't tell what it is," Hige groaned in frustration. "Kiba what do you think? Is it human or wolf?"  
        "It . . . smells like both, but . . ."  
        "But what? It can't be both. A half-human half-wolf? That's not possible."  
        "You're right. It's faint, but . . . there's also another underlying scent. Can you smell it? It smells like lunar flowers."  
        "Damn, this isn't making any sense. Blood that has the scent of human, wolf, and lunar flowers, too."  
        "Come on, there's a trail of it." Kiba started to follow the scent trail when he felt Hige grab his arm and drag him into an alley. "What are you doing?"  
        "Look it's that's guy and his dog again." The wolves peered around the corner watching the man Hige mentioned.  
        "You got somethin', Blue?" he asked the dog. Blue sniffed the air some more and looked up at her master. "Come on, Blue." He gave a light tug on the leash and the dog followed her master's lead staying right next to his side.  
        "I think we should stick it out here for a while," Hige advised.  
        "Why?"  
        "Oh come on, the scent isn't going anywhere." Kiba finally gave in and the two resigned themselves to the roof top of the near by building.  
        The man with the dog turned around and watched the two wolves climb up a ladder just outside the alley where they had been hiding.  
        "All right, I can play this waiting game, too." The man continued walking away. He didn't want to wolves to know he had seen them. He was going to catch them by surprise. It would be easier to kill both of them that way. If he attacked them now, he might get one, but the other would run, or come after him.  
        At the same moment, there was much activity going on inside the lab. A man with indigo eyes, swept back shoulder length blue hair, and an eye patch that hooked onto his left ear stood questioning a woman, the lab's chief scientist.  
        "Dr. Degre, I chose your facilities for this project because they were the best, and I funded you research because you promised results, but so far I have yet to see those results. Care to explain yourself?" the man demanded.  
        "You can call me Cher, you know. Anyway, things like this take time. Believe me when I say that I understand your need for urgency. Everyone here is working as fast a they can, and we sympathize with you desire to find a cure for you wife's illness. However, if we rush we'll lose everything. I promise that I will do everything in my power to ensure that the project goes as smoothly and quickly as possible, lord Darcia." Cher explained to the noble.  
        Darcia calmed down a bit and sighed, "Yes, but of course, you have been working hard all along. I have faith in your abilities Dr.--I mean, Cher." He looked down and Cher could see the sadness and hurt in his eyes. Darcia drifted over to the large cylindrical tube where Cheza slept suspended vertically in a sparkling green liquid. He placed his hand on the glass and gazed up at the flower maiden. "I must save Harmona. You are my last hope, Cheza." Then Darcia redirected his gaze at Cher, "and you, as well." Cher knew that Darcia was powerful man and he could be ruthless when it came to getting what he wanted, but the way he looked at her with that forlorn love in his eyes. It reminded Cher of her husband, Hubb. Even though they had been divorced for quite some time now, she still felt something for that hopeless romantic. Cher knew he still carried a torch for her and showed no signs of giving up.  
        In fact, her jealousy earlier this morning had surprised her. Hubb was walking with a young woman on his way to work. Cher later questioned him about his new girlfriend and he looked hurt that she had chosen that exact term. The young woman turned out to be the kid sister of one of Hubb's friends, thought later on Hubb did look flattered that Cher had noticed. But that fact still remained, why did she care so much, if at all. Cher had to admit that she still liked him and maybe even loved him. Especially after Hubb's reaction to her little interrogation. After telling her that his affairs were none of her business, he pointed out the fact that she had been spending all her time with that noble. Hubb went so far as to imply that Cher was dating him. Her response was sharp and cut right to the point, "Don't be an idiot, Hubb. My relationship with lord Darcia is strictly business. Apart from the project, we have nothing to do with each other." But at that moment she was angry that Hubb actually had the nerve to question her integrity.   
        _Ah, what am I doing? I'm spacing out right in front of a noble_, Cher thought as she snapped back to reality. Her conscience could not stand it any longer. "Darcia, there is something I need to show you." The noble was surprised by her sudden seriousness. Cher joined Darcia at the terminal in front of Cheza's tank. "Please just stand right where you are." Cher began tapping on the controls furiously. "There, that should kill the audio feed."  
        "What . . ." Darcia started to ask something, but Cher cut him off.  
        "I don't want the camera to be able to see my lips in case they decide to spy on us." Darcia nodded. Cher was worried about someone reading her lips, and since Darcia was taller than her, he effectively blocked Cher from the view of the ceiling mounted camera behind him. "You had to form a partnership with lord Orkham in order to have Cheza created here, but I have been under orders from him to give you false information." Darcia's eyes widened with anger, not at Cher, but at Orkham. "The project is several stages ahead of what you have been told." Cher pulled up massive volumes of data on the terminal all of which held relevance to Darcia. "This file here is what I really want you to see."  
        "Project Shadow Gemini," Darcia read from the screen.  
        "Orkham is trying to duplicate Cheza. I just received orders this morning to begin dissection once you left."  
        "What!?" Darcia shouted.  
        "Data extrapolation for project Shadow Gemini is only a thirteen percent. Orkham is getting impatient because Cheza will awaken soon. He wants to dissect her in order to speed up the project. This was Orkham's real objective for forming a partnership with you."  
        "How soon will Cheza awaken?"  
        "She should wake up at any moment. If you stay for several more days I can delay Orkham's intentions. Then when Cheza awakens you can take her away from here."  
        "Thank you Cher," Darcia stroked her cheek gently. She had just saved Harmona and himself from Orkham's betrayal.  
        "I have one request . . ."  
        "Anything."  
        "When you take Cheza, take me with you!" Darcia was surprised at this. Surely, Cher knew that he couldn't have feelings for her. "It won't be safe for me here any more. Will you protect me?"  
        "Very well, if that is what you wish. But why?"  
        "I want to see this through to the end. I want to see how Cheza will grow and develop once she is awake. I'm a scientist--I want to unlock the mysteries surrounding her! And I have this feeling that something big is about to happen and I want to be apart of it." Darcia laughed gently and cracked a smile. He had to admire the woman's passion for her work and her fierce determination.  
        "So then, you wish to accompany me to Paradise?" he asked.  
        "That is if it even exists, Darcia. But there are many things in this world that can not be proven merely due to a lack of scientific evidence. Cheza, herself, is the product of an alchemy that can not be proven."  
        "Well then, we should act quickly if we are going to put this plan of yours into action." Cher nodded in agreement.  
        "Act natural when we leave. The audio interference can be blamed on a reaction with Cheza, it happens all the time. There are still a few things I need to take care of so, I might be difficult reach. If there is a problem call me with this and meet me at the lab, right here in this room." Cher handed Darcia a cell phone. It had her number programmed into it. "One last thing, Orkham has a partner in the Shadow Gemini project. I don't know much about him, but I would suspect we have to careful. I believe Orkham is working with a noble from the far eastern regions. The nobles there gather in large dynasties. If Orkham really has an alliance with them then we may be in far greater danger than . . ." Darcia placed a finger over Cher's lips.  
        "Shhh, it is all right. You need not explain the severity of the situation any further. I shall attend to this matter," he reassured her. Darcia gave a courteous bow and then departed. There was much he needed to do in order make sure they would have a clean get away. Cher would also have her work cut out for her covering their tracks. Now the plan had been set into motion it was too late to turn back. The only thing stopping them now was Cheza's awakening.  
        It was late now and evening had already fallen. Tsume had decided to spend the afternoon just riding around aimlessly. He was tired and it was time to go back to the abandoned building he called home. He parked his bike in a hollow space hidden from view. Then he heard a rustling coming from behind. Immediately, Tsume lunged at whatever it was that was trying to sneak up on him.  
        "Ahhhh!" A scream from a familiar voice pierced his ears has he tumbled on top of the person who sneaking around. Tsume glared down at the person he had pinned.  
        "Toboe! What the hell are you doing here!" he demanded. Tsume got up off the young wolf. Toboe climbed back to his feet.  
        "I um, uh," he stammered. Toboe held out a small bundle he was holding. "I thought you might get cold tonight and . . ." It was a blanket that Toboe's granny had knitted. Tsume took the blanket knowing that was the only hope he had of getting rid of the kid.  
        "And?" he asked irritated.  
        "You forgot these." Toboe held out Tsume's sunglasses. Tsume now realized that Toboe knew what had happened earlier today.  
        "I told her to keep them."  
        "Yeah I know but, . . ."  
        "I don't want them."  
        "Uh, can I have them?" Toboe asked a bit hopeful.  
        "Whatever." The gleeful pup immediately pocketed them. Tsume turned and walked inside the decrepit building. Toboe took a few steps and then hesitated. When he heard no objections from Tsume, Toboe happily bounded after Tsume. "Wouldn't you be more comfortable back at you granny's?" Tsume asked looking back at the pup.  
        "I don't mind." Toboe smiled.  
        "Suit yourself." Tsume opened the door to the room he usually stayed in and it was then that the two wolves found him. A little boy, unconscious, curled up in the middle of the floor. There was a pool of blood on the ground coming from the boy's shoulder.  
        "Oh my gosh, Tsume." The young wolf looked to his friend for what to do. Tsume moved over to the boy and removed the boy's jacket and shirt. There was a book tucked away in his jacket, but Tsume paid no attention to it. The boy's shoulder looked like it had been mauled. Tsume wondered what did this to him. If it had been a wolf, Tsume doubted that the boy would still be alive. Any wolf with decent hunting skills would have finished the job. At least Tsume would have, if the boy had been his prey, that is.  
        "Toboe, clean him up."  
        "Right." Toboe started cleaning the wound the best way wolves know how. He licked gently fearful of drawing out more blood. The boy looked so pale. Tsume returned quickly with some scraps of material. The rags were quickly turned into makeshift bandages once Toboe had cleaned away all the blood. Tsume tied the bandages tight and also checked the boy's pulse and breathing. Both were faint. The wolf put the boy's shirt and jacket back on him and then discarded the book in a corner. After all, what use does a wolf have for reading?  
        "We're going to have to keep him warm." Tsume took the blanket Toboe had brought and wrapped the child in it.  
        "Tsume, I think our fur might also help," Toboe suggested.  
        "No, it'll be better to stay human. Just in case he wakes up or someone finds us."  
        "Oh, Ok." Tsume propped himself against a wall with the boy in his lap. Toboe slid close next to Tsume. Toboe almost jumped at what Tsume did next. Instead of shoving him away, which is what the pup had braced himself for, Tsume put his arm around Toboe. Toboe snuggled against Tsume and hugged him around his midsection.  
        "Don't get too used to this, runt!"  
        "All right." Toboe agreed as he fell into a peaceful sleep.  
        _I hate kids_, Tsume thought as he sat there waiting for sleep to come. He looked at Toboe sleeping next to him. He did look happy just like the old woman had said. Tsume couldn't deny that he felt some sort of kindredship with the young wolf like they could almost have been related. _Well, perhaps in another lifetime_, Tsume chuckled to himself. Finally, Tsume too fell asleep. 


	2. Revelations of the Past

(This is a reposting of Ch 2 after I fixed some errors) I really appreaciate the reviews. I just like to know if anyone finds this entertaining so please let me know. I was also worried if this was managing to live up to the anime. I hope I'm not making the chapters too long. Well, you find out who the boy is in this chapter, but there are still plenty of mysteries surrounding him. As for pairing, I haven't really thought that much about it. I don't think I will do anything that wasn't in the series concerning this. Just to let everyone know I don't do quote/unquote love scences. I'd rather write about stuff : ). See you at the end of the chapter. ; )  
  
Episode 02: Revelations of the Past  
  
        It was still early morning and the sun had yet to rise into the sky. A white wolf stood atop the building where he had slept that night stretching the sleep from his body in the receding darkness. Kiba moved over to where Hige was still snoring away and gave him a shove. "Hige, come on wake up."  
        "Ughh, Kiba it's too early," the lazy tan wolf complained.  
        "We have to get back on the trail of that scent." Kiba walked away and climbed down the ladder. Hige slowly stood to his feet rubbing his eyes.  
        "Damn, why can't Kiba take things a bit slower?" Hige moaned, but still he hurried up and followed Kiba down the ladder not wanting to be left behind. Kiba stopped by the blood stain on the wall and sniffed it a few times. Both wolves were in their human forms just incase they ran into any panicky humans. "I still don't get why this is so important to you. It's not like this is going to help us find that place you're looking for."  
        "Actually it could. I don't know why, but the same instinct that leads me to find Paradise is telling me to find the source of this scent."  
        "Why is nothing ever simple with you? This is what I get for taking in strays."  
        "Uh, who exactly took who in?" Kiba replied looking back at Hige with a raised eyebrow. "As I recall, that human would have had you captured if I hadn't saved you, you know."  
        "You don't let anything go, do you?" Hige laughed uneasily. He didn't like thinking about how he had gotten careless that day and was nearly picked up by the dog catcher. That's how Kiba and Hige met. After that Kiba told Hige about his search for Paradise and so the tan wolf decided to stick around the white wolf thinking it would be interesting. However, now Hige was bored with the whole matter.  
        Once Kiba got the scent, he started off down the street with Hige walking beside him. Kiba was completely immersed in finding the source of the scent while Hige meandered about with his eyes. Though he was not as concerned with tracking the scent as Kiba, Hige did keep one eye out for anyone who might be following them. Unfortunately, Hige did not look very hard otherwise he might have noticed the same hunter from the day before watching them from a ways off. The hunter let the wolves pass him and get a good distance ahead.  
        "Come on, Blue. We're going to hunt some wolves." He gave a slight tug on the dog's leash and she followed her master obediently. The hunter was going to take his time. The wolves were oblivious to his presence and he was going to choose his moment to strike. He saw two humans walking along the streets, but at the same time he could also see a ghostlike echo of their wolf forms. He planned to kill the white one first, since it looked like the leader of the two. The hunter's gun was already prepared and ready to be fired at a moments notice. Kiba and Hige continued on slowly towards where the scent was leading them. Kiba wanted to go faster, but Hige would complain every time Kiba picked up the pace. So the pair trudged along at a snail's pace. Meanwhile, Tsume and Toboe had no idea that Kiba and Hige were headed their way.  
        "Uhnn," Tsume groaned as he awoke. The sun had just now barely started to come over the horizon. His neck was stiff and sore from sleeping the way he had. Tsume rolled his head around a few times to loosen it up. It helped, but only a little. He tried to shift his position slightly, but found himself unable to do so. Toboe still had his arms wrapped around Tsume. The young wolf's head rested against his older companion's chest moving up and down as Tsume breathed. Tsume put his head back against the wall and stared up a the ceiling. "How the hell do I get myself into these situations?" he asked no one in particular. "And why do all of these damn kids fall right into my lap?!" It wasn't that Tsume was mad at them. He just needed to vent his frustration. _Well, at least someone's comfortable_, he thought as he looked down at Toboe. Tsume remained in this position for while longer until finally the morning sunlight poured in through the window. He felt Toboe stir and then was greeted by the pup's yawn.  
        "Morning, Tsume," Toboe said as he let go of Tsume to stretch. Once Toboe finished, Tsume moved the boy from his lap and placed him gently on the floor near Toboe.  
        "Check his bandage." Tsume stood up a popped his back several times. He was NOT going to sleep in that position ever again, not for anyone's sake.  
        "Hey, Tsume, come take a look at this." Toboe called out sounding a bit confused.  
        "What?" Tsume growled as he walked over to inspect the boy. "What the heck?" was his shocked response as he got a good look at the boy's shoulder. The wound was gone. There were no signs that there had ever been any kind of injury, not even a scar. The blood was also gone from his clothes. "That's . . . just not possible!" The boy moved at Tsume's shout. Slowly, he opened his eyes and sat up. There was not a fearful reaction from the boy, in fact, it seemed as though he were quite comfortable with Tsume and Toboe's presence. The boy smiled at both of them with a great joy in his eyes, or at least the one eye they could see, like he had just found an old friend. The wolves could only stare at the boy with a look of abject puzzlement plastered to their faces. "Okay, so just who are you?" Tsume pressed the boy for information. The boy just stood there smiling. He didn't say a word. Then, unexpectedly, he ran up to Tsume and hugged him. "H-hey, what are you doing?" Tsume was baffled. It was like the boy was saying thank you for taking care of him. This sentiment was reenforced when the boy went over to Toboe and did the same thing. After he let go of Toboe, the boy scanned the room and found the book he had been carrying over in a corner where Tsume had discarded it. The boy scooped up the book and placed it back inside his jacket.  
        "Are you . . . feeling all right?" Toboe asked the boy. A simple nod was the only answer he received. "Well then, how come you don't talk." The boy gave Toboe a confused look and tilted his head. Then he smiled again at the young wolf.  
        "Hey, come on speak up already!" Tsume shouted getting rather irritated. The child only smiled, but then his eyes widened in surprise. He sniffed at the air several times and then a look of pure joy exploded onto his face. The boy turned to the window and ran straight for it. "No stop!" Tsume reached out to grab the boy, but he was too late. The child jumped clear out of the window. The two wolves ran to the window and looked outside. The boy landed easily on the ground. It just didn't make sense. The boy looked human enough, but that jump should have injured if not killed him. Sure Tsume or Toboe could have done the same, yet they were wolves. That is when they finally noticed it--the boy's scent. It was strange, neither of them could tell if it was human or wolf. In fact, the scent smelled closer to being both with no exact distinction between the two. "Who the heck is this kid?" Tsume said as he jumped out the window. Toboe followed, but didn't have nearly as graceful a landing as Tsume. Then the wolves finally noticed two figures approaching from a distance.  
        "Hey look, it's the other two we met earlier!" Toboe shouted to Tsume. Kiba and Hige recognized Toboe's voice as they approached.  
        "What are they doing here?" Hige wondered out loud. However Kiba didn't get a chance to answer.  
        "KIBA!" the boy cried as he ran towards the white wolf. The boy threw his arms around Kiba and latched on tight. All four wolves looked startled. Kiba's expression was almost comical. He had found the source of the scent, but had no idea how to handle this situation. Nothing he had ever experienced before could have prepared him for this. "I-I found you. I finally found you." The boy began to cry burying his face in Kiba's stomach. The kid was starting to make a scene. Kiba put a hand on the boy's shoulder.  
        "Uh, hey, you mind letting go? You're squeezing me kinda tight." Kiba did not want to hurt the boy's feelings, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. The boy finally released Kiba after a few more moments. Then the boy pointed to the other wolves one at a time and recited their names.  
        "Hige, Tsume, Toboe."  
        "Wait a minute. How did he know our names?" Hige asked.  
        "Uh, I don't know. We didn't tell him," Toboe answered.  
        "More importantly, how did he survive that jump?" Tsume motioned with his head to the window the boy had leapt out of. "Don't bother asking him anything, he won't answer," he grumbled. Kiba knelt on one knee and looked at the boy's face. The boy stared back locking his gaze into Kiba's blue eyes.  
        "What's your name?" Kiba asked.  
        "Aibo," he happily replied. Tsume made an irritated growl as his eye twitched.  
        "Where are you from?" Aibo was hesitant to answer Kiba's question.  
        "Paradise," Aibo cautiously replied. Kiba gasped and the others looked confused, as well.  
        "You're saying you've been there, kid?" Hige pressed.  
        "Well, . . . sort of," the child answered.  
        "This kid's full of it," Tsume interrupted. Aibo frowned and shot Tsume an unhappy look.  
        "Grouch," the boy muttered.  
        "What did you say?" Aibo and Tsume glared at one another. The little kid wasn't backing down. "Pft, this isn't worth my time. I'm outta here." Tsume started to walk off.  
        "I thought you wanted to who I was." It was subtle, but Aibo didn't want Tsume to leave. Otherwise, he wouldn't have tried to tempt Tsume with this tidbit of information. It worked and Tsume stopped in his tracks. He looked back over his shoulder with only a halfhearted interest.  
        "Well?  
        "It's hard to explain. I can't do it right here.  
        "Why not?" Tsume asked gruffly. Just then Aibo heard a tiny click that none of the others noticed. He walked past Kiba and shouted down the street.  
        "Hey! Mister, what are you doing over there?!" All of the others looked to where the boy was yelling at. The hunter that had followed Kiba and Hige earlier was standing a distance from them. He had cocked his gun and was ready to fire when Aibo shouted and startled him. However, the hunter was surprised for more than just that reason. After Aibo had shouted out to him, he was no longer able to see the ghostly echoes of the group's wolf forms. The hunter couldn't understand it. He had been able to see them for what they were, but now he saw only a group of four boys and one child. The man lowered his rifle staring in disbelief.  
        Kiba and Tsume glanced at Aibo, he was wearing a look of self satisfaction. What was it he knew that they didn't. It dawned on the older two wolves, at that moment, that the hunter would have shot one of them if Aibo hadn't spoken up. Then Hige and Toboe felt something rush past them. A huge blur of black fur collided with Aibo and sent him flying along the ground and he stopped several feet in front of the group. Kiba and Tsume had caught a glimpse of what happened. Something looking like a dog, but several times larger than a wolf stampeded up to the boy and sank its fangs into his right shoulder and dragged him along the ground to where he now lay face down. The wolves saw the look of horror on Aibo's face as the child realized what was happening. The creature standing over Aibo couldn't have been a dog because of its sheer size and it mouth was way too full of teeth. However, the scent of dog wrapped itself around the beast. It let go of the boy's shoulder and raised its head opening its massive jaws wide as it aimed for the boy's neck.  
        "Blue!" the hunter shouted as he dropped his dog's leash. She flew across the paved street in a instant reaching the creature in no time at all. Blue lunged for the beast's throat and sank her teeth deep into its flesh. She held her grip tight and shook back and forth violently. The monstrous dog growled fiercely and with one good shake of its head freed itself of Blue's grasp and sent her rolling. There was plenty of blood on the creature's neck, but it didn't seem phased in the least. Aibo started to crawl away from the creature, but it went for the boy's neck again. Two shots rang out. The hunter hit the creature in its forehead both times. No effect, it merely jerked back from the impacts. However, it was just enough time to let Aibo get out from underneath the creature.  
        He turned to face Tsume and frantically shouted, "Hit the back of its neck near the skull!" Tsume pulled out his knife and dashed at the monster. One good slash at where the spine joined to the skull was all it took and the creature fell to the ground dead. The ease of bring down the beast surprised the leather clad wolf, especially after all the abuse it had taken without showing any signs of feeling its injuries.  
        "W-w-what was that?" Toboe asked, his voice quivering. No one answered. Hige walked closer to the corpse and took several whiffs at the air.  
        "It smells like a dog, but there's just no way. Look at the size of it!" he concluded stuffing his hands into the pockets of his yellow shirt. Aibo simply stood there in shock, shaking uncontrollably. He looked pale. Kiba came close to Aibo and knelt down placing a hand on his back.  
        "Are you all right?" he asked with concern looking at the child's horrified expression. Aibo clamped onto Kiba again throwing his arms around his jacket. The boy pressed his face into Kiba's white shirt. Kiba was puzzled as to why Aibo kept turning to him. Did Aibo know him somehow? That didn't seem possible because Kiba was certain that he had never seen Aibo before now. Kiba could feel how strongly the child was trembling. Then it crossed his mind that the boy was turning to him for comfort, but why? Finally, Kiba put his arms around the child and patted him gently. "Calm down, it's over now. You're safe." Aibo's shaking seemed to lessen noticeably. It took a few moments more for Aibo to settle enough for him to let go of Kiba allowing the white wolf to stand up again.  
        Meanwhile, the hunter had approached the group and was checking Blue to make sure she was all right. She opened her eyes as she felt her master's hand stroke her side. Blue rose to her feet and licked the hunter's hand.  
        "Thank you, mister Quent," Aibo said standing close to Kiba's left leg.  
        "How did you . . ." Quent began then smiled, "well, it's not important." He took hold of Blue's leash and stood up. "You four had better watch yourselves. The moment you let your guard down, I'll get you all." The hunter turned and walked away with Blue at his side.  
        "Hey Aibo, are you okay?" Toboe asked.  
        "Yeah, it didn't get me as bad this time."  
        "So that was what mauled you before?" Tsume inquired.  
        "Yes, it followed me here. I managed to lose it in the snow storm outside, but I guess it followed my scent. Not that it's hard to miss."  
        "So who are you?"  
        "I told you, I'm Aibo," the boy said to the sliver haired man. Tsume rolled his eyes.  
        "This isn't getting us anywhere."  
        "I think you mean, 'what am I'," the boy suggested. "Well, it says that wolves called us Companion."  
        "Come again?"  
        "My kind, they decided to call themselves by the name wolves dubbed them with. I read it in this book, though, I can't read all of it just yet." Aibo pulled out the book he kept in his jacket. "The Chronicle of the Companions," he explained. The child opened the book and showed it to the wolves. At first the pages were blank, but as they continued to look markings began to appear in a crimson glow. None of the wolves had ever bothered to learn to read human script, but these markings held meaning to them. They could read this strange language that was inscribed upon the book's pages.  
        "What are these 'Companions' anyway?" Hige wondered. Aibo flipped through the pages of the book heading to its beginning.  
        "It says that in the beginning the wolf was born from the great spirit and man became its messenger."  
        "Wait humans came from wolves?" Hige asked in confusion. Aibo shook his head.  
        "No, you have to compensate for the ancient dialect. The word 'man' as it is used here is a vague term not meaning either male or female. It means a sentient being similar to a human in physical appearance. It goes on to say that then came the 'children of the moon' carrying with them the scent of the lunar flowers. Finally, the last creature created was a being in the image of the great spirit. That one is the human race. So there are sentient races other than humans and wolves that walk upon the earth. However, I am only able to read bits and pieces of this passage, so there are other sentient races named here that I am unable to read about.  
        "So how the heck do you figure out what it's saying?" Hige was getting impatient. Aibo sighed.  
        "I don't know. Usually, I just stare at it and concentrate. Then the meaning eventually comes, but sometimes it can take days before I can read it. And I mean days of constant unbroken staring."  
        "Geeze, sounds like a pain."  
        "We're getting off topic here," Tsume griped placing a hand on his hip. Aibo nodded in agreement.  
        "Well, although the Companions looked human, they walked with wolves. They lived among wolves and were actually taken in as members of the pack."  
        "Yeah right, humans living with wolves. You gotta be kidding me. They're too weak," Tsume snickered at what Aibo had to say.  
        "I don't see why you don't believe me. You saw the proof yourself just a while ago."  
        "What are you talking about?"  
        "Oh, hey I get it!" Toboe declared. "You're saying that these um, Companions have abilities similar to us wolves, right?" Aibo nodded and both of them had a rather bright eyed look.  
        "But the thing is though, that it only works when a Companion is in close proximity to wolves. The more wolves there are or the greater the time of exposure to wolves, the more profound the abilities become. Eventually, adult Companions, who had lived their entire life with their pack, can assume the physical form of a wolf," the child explained.  
        "I still don't believe it." Tsume crossed his arms.  
        "Then you explain how I healed so quickly or was able to jump from that window unharmed," Aibo countered. Tsume didn't have an answer. He just grunted and looked away. "I have to ask the four of you something." All the wolves directed their attention at the small boy. "Do all of you . . . want to search for Paradise?" Kiba and Hige nodded, but Tsume had a different opinion.  
        "I can't believe you take that crap seriously," the gray wolf sneered. "Paradise is just a fair tale, and if it isn't then it's some idiot's dream!"  
        "But Tsume, we'll never know unless we look for it," Toboe pleaded with Tsume.  
        "Tsume I can assure you that Paradise is real. I told you that I've been there, remember," Aibo chimed in right after rust-colored wolf. "And if you need it, I can give you additional proof." Tsume raised an eyebrow and tapped his foot like he was waiting for it. Aibo sighed, "All right, follow me." The child lead the others back into the deteriorating apartment building and stopped in the same room where he had spent the previous night. He sat on the floor and motioned for the others to do the same. "What I'm about to tell all of you is going to be hard to swallow." Aibo looked around at the others looking for reassurance that it was all right for him to continue.  
        "Go ahead," Kiba softly encouraged the child giving a slight nod.  
        "I have been searching for all of you for about seven thousand years. I know all of you, but this is the first time I have actually met any of you . . . while you are still alive." Aibo received a round of shocked looks from everyone. He lowered his head and continued, "By the time I find any of you . . . you're already dead."  
        "Aibo, what are you talking about?" Kiba asked looking at the boy gently.  
        "Kiba, this lifetime isn't the first that you have set out find Paradise. You have been looking for Paradise for seven thousand year's worth of lifetimes. And not once have you ever succeeded in finding it," the child sadly stated. His voice was starting to get shaky. "And in every lifetime all of you always die . . ." Aibo's voice trailed off. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them as tears started to fall from his face.  
        "Aibo . . ." Toboe began. Aibo pulled himself together and started once more.  
        "Over those years, you all live and die. At the moment of your deaths, time is thrown backwards and you all are reborn. It's continued like this in an endless cycle. But in the last lifetime, something occurred that had never happened before. It was the first time all of you worked together as a pack since this endless cycle began. The four of you came closer to finding Paradise than ever before, but still you were unable to reach Paradise and . . . you all died . . . again."  
        "Okay, but there's one thing about you story that doesn't make sense, squirt. How does time keep going backwards?" Hige scrutinized.  
        "That's easy, Cheza does it."  
        "How?"  
        "It's when her seeds mix with Kiba's blood. I might not have mentioned this earlier, but when you all die at the end of any one particular cycle, your deaths are never pleasant," Aibo shuddered violently as he said this. "Resetting the cycle isn't what the original purpose is for Cheza's seeds, but she is able to use their power to give you all another chance." By this time it seemed that Kiba was the only one still listening, and with only a mild interest. Aibo looked around and sighed, "I had hoped you all would have believed me."  
        "Well, you gotta admit that this story seems a bit far fetched," Hige replied.  
        "I honestly didn't want to have to resort to this, but I can awaken your memories of the past." The wolves looked at the child with raised eyebrows. "Did any of you ever have that weird feeling like you have done what you are doing before?" Tsume grunted while the rest nodded. "The events of the past repeat themselves in every cycle and sometimes a memory from a past cycle will rise close to the surface of you consciousness, but it lacks enough momentum to break through. If you want I can draw a few of these memories to the surface, but I won't be able to bring out anything that isn't there."  
        "Fine, just try it already. I'm sick of wasting my time here like this," Tsume was getting impatient.  
        "If you all will put your hands on mine," Aibo instructed them as he held out his hand palm up. Once the wolves had done so, he continued, "Now close your eyes and relax."  
        The child's skeptics didn't have to wait long for their evidence. Images started to flash through their minds. They could feel what was happening as if they were in that moment right now. Terrible pain shot through each of their bodies. What each of the wolves saw and experienced was their own deaths from the previous cycle. However, they did not see the events and circumstances leading up to their deaths nor did they see how another of them died. They each individually saw only their own death. Aibo opened his eyes once he had finished. Everyone was noticeably shaken.  
        "What the hell kind of illusion was that?!" Tsume shouted standing to his feet, obviously angry. Aibo just wore a sad expression on his face.  
        "There really isn't any difference between illusion and reality to the one experiencing it."  
        "Just what do you think you're trying to pull here?!" Tsume's irritation was getting worse.  
        "I'm not trying to pull anything, honest!" Aibo pleaded.  
        "Tsume, stop it." Kiba rose to confront the gray wolf.  
        "You gonna make me though guy?" Tsume started growling. Hige and Toboe backed away to the other side of the room.  
        "Yeah," Kiba answered Tsume in his soft voice. Tsume lunged at Kiba, both of them now in their wolf forms. The gray wolf missed and the two faced off again. Kiba was getting ready to attack. He opened his jaws and jumped forward. Then suddenly he felt something in his mouth mid jump. Kiba clamped down hard on the object thinking it was Tsume. Kiba landed and then got a good look at what was going on. Tsume was standing in human form looking down in front of Kiba. The silver haired young man's expression was one of pure shock and bewilderment. Kiba then looked at what he had gotten a hold of. It was Aibo. The child had stepped between the two wolves and was determined to stop them the only way he could. Aibo had thrown his hand inside Kiba's mouth to keep him from attacking Tsume. Kiba let go of the boy as soon as he realized what was going on. The white wolf had mangled the boy's hand pretty badly. There was blood all over it and crimson drops were readily dripping to the ground. Aibo was crying, but not from the pain in his hand.  
        "I . . . didn't hold on to life all these years . . . just to watch you fight each other," he said, his voice surprisingly steady as tears rolled down his face. Tsume looked ashamed of what he'd done and left the room heading up to the roof. Toboe followed him a few seconds later. "I'm sorry . . . for getting in your way." Aibo was taking the blame for the injury to his hand. Hige picked up some scraps of cloth that were still lying around in the room and passed them to Kiba. The two wolves quickly bandaged the boy's hand. Then Hige decided to take his leave claiming that he smelt something to eat. Kiba and Aibo were left alone.  
        "Why did you stop us?" Kiba asked the child softly as he sat down on the floor. Aibo sat next to him and answered.  
        "I don't have a family any more. They died and have never come back in any of the cycles. The people return, but my family never comes back. I suppose I came to think of you wolves as my family, but . . ."  
        "So you don't have any place to go back to either?" Kiba asked. Kiba started to tell the child about how his pack died in fire, however, Aibo wound up finishing the tale for Kiba. "You really do know us, don't you," the white wolf said surprised by how much Aibo knew about him. The child nodded in response to Kiba's question and then replied.  
        "I don't forget when the cycle resets. My memories stay intact from one lifetime to the next. The events of the past cycles also always repeat themselves. That is how I know all these things I otherwise couldn't know."  
        "How's your hand?"  
        "It's better now. Please, don't be mad at Tsume."  
        "Huh," Kiba tilted his head wondering what brought this on.  
        "It's just how he deals with fear. He gets aggressive."  
        Meanwhile Toboe was trying to talk with Tsume. Toboe came out of the stairwell and found Tsume sitting on the edge of the roof with his legs stretched out in front. He was staring off into the distance looking like he was deep in thought while watching the sun set. "Hey, Tsume," the rust colored wolf called out to his friend.  
        "Go away!" the gray wolf snapped.   
        "I just want to talk."  
        "I said beat it!"  
        "Well, I know you don't, but I thought that it was kind of scary back there. When Aibo showed us our memories." Tsume didn't respond there was only silence. Toboe took this as a sign that he was on the right track. "I don't get how your not afraid of dying. I know I sure am." Toboe sounded hopeful at first, but after still getting no reaction from Tsume frowned, "I guess that makes you think I'm weak, huh?"  
        "You're still just a pup." Toboe was surprised. He had expected Tsume to say something mean or at least insult him. Well, at least Toboe thought Tsume hadn't insulted him.  
        "You know, though, that was weird back there. When Aibo stepped between you and Kiba. He didn't look afraid, even as Kiba bit him. I guess Aibo trusts Kiba a lot, kind of like how I trust you, Tsume."  
        "I didn't ask for your trust," Tsume sneered.  
        "It doesn't matter to me, Tsume. I still trust you and, you know, it's okay . . . you can trust me." Tsume looked at Toboe with one eye. Tsume felt like he had had this conversation before, and that, perhaps, there might be some truth to what the boy had said. However, Tsume was still unnerved from what he had seen. He could not help but wonder how the others had died, and he was surprised by his feelings of concern. Tsume thought, _How did Toboe die? Was it because I hadn't been there to save him?_  
        Tsume remembered the first time he met Toboe. The young wolf had shown himself to a human girl without thinking. She was showing him her pet falcon. Toboe had run up to grab it for her in his human form, but the girl called out and stopped him. The pup was amazed that the falcon came back to the girl and landed on her arm all on its own. Tsume guessed Toboe had figured that since the girl liked animals she would have no problem with wolves. Toboe figured wrong, however. The girl freaked and called for her father. That hunter, Quent, just happened to be nearby that day and fired at Toboe. Tsume, in his human form, grabbed the pup and ran off. The gray wolf took a bullet in the shoulder as the price for this rescue. Toboe felt terrible about the whole event. In spite of Tsume shouting at and berating him, he stayed by the gray wolf's side and even pulled out the bullet while Tsume slept.  
        No matter how hard Tsume tried, Toboe just wouldn't go away. Tsume sighed inside himself. Regardless of how much he did not want to admit it, the pup was starting to grow on him. Tsume was starting to feel not like he _had_ to take care of Toboe so much as he _wanted_ to take care of him. Tsume turned his head and looked straight at Toboe.  
        The gray wolf thought to himself, _This pup wouldn't survive three days without me or his old lady. I yell and shout at him and yet still he stays. He doesn't stay because he thinks he needs me to survive. He stays because he likes me. He . . . likes . . . me?_ It just didn't sound right to Tsume. He couldn't figure out why. Why would that pup admire _him_ of all people? Why not Kiba, for instance? Was it because Toboe felt he owed Tsume out of gratitude for saving him? _Naw, I killed all that gratitude on the first day_, the leather clad wolf reasoned with himself. Tsume hadn't realized it, but he chuckled at that thought and Toboe had seen him smile.  
        "Tsume?" Toboe asked and tilted his head slightly. Tsume reached out a hand and ruffled Toboe's hair. Toboe smiled and laughed a bit. "Tsume, are you feeling all right?" Toboe asked. He wasn't used to Tsume being so uncharacteristically nice to him.  
        "Let's go check on the kid," Tsume said as he got up.  
        "Oh, okay," Toboe replied smiling. The pair walked back down to the room where they had left Kiba and Aibo. Upon seeing Tsume, Aibo stood up and approached the gray wolf. He stopped just in front of Tsume and looked down at the floor.  
        "I, um, want to say I'm sorry for earlier." Tsume rolled his eyes and sighed aloud walking past the child.  
        "I'm not going anywhere, so you can drop the routine kid," Tsume muttered as he propped himself up in the broken out window's ledge. Aibo's eyes lit up at this. The boy had been worried that Tsume really was going to take off because he had pushed to gray wolf to it.  
        "Does that mean you're going to stay?" Aibo asked sounding rather hopeful.  
        "This is my 'home' you all are in," Tsume glanced over at the boy as he said this. The kid was beaming.  
        "Will you help us look for Paradise? You know we can't do it without you."  
        Tsume nodded, "Someone has to make sure you idiots don't get yourselves killed." Aibo ran over and hugged the leather clad wolf at this. "Yeah, okay I get it. You're happy, now will you get off." Aibo let go of Tsume. "Geeze, I hate kids," Tsume said casually, placing his hands behind his head and resting up against the window frame. He looked out of the window, "Porky's back," Tsume announced. It had already gotten dark. Hige was carrying a plastic bag. Once he got up to the room, the brown wolf proudly displayed his bounty.  
        "I told ya I smelled food," Hige bragged as he passed out the contents of the bag. It was just some old hamburgers, but they were still edible. There were no complaints, not even from Kiba. Anything was better than hot dogs is what the white wolf figured. After they were finished eating, Toboe and Aibo yawned in unison. "I guess it's the runts' bedtime," Hige teased.  
        "Hey, I'm not a runt," Toboe argued. Aibo just let it go. He was already half asleep. The other four turned back into their wolf forms. Tsume hopped down from his perch and chose a spot in the corner to sleep. Toboe snuggled up alongside Tsume who gave the pup a small push, but it was mostly for show as he didn't make Toboe move. Hige had already picked a spot and Kiba had just closed his eyes when he heard footsteps and a small voice. Kiba peeked an eye open and saw Aibo standing over him.  
        "Umm," Aibo was nervous and couldn't get out his request, but Kiba understood. In the pale light Kiba's white fur shimmered as he raised his head to look at the boy standing in front of him.  
        "I guess you're cold," Kiba waited for a response. Aibo nodded since he couldn't think of anything to say. "You know Hige probably has thicker fur. You'll probably be warmer over by him." Aibo frowned at that. He was afraid he had given Kiba the wrong impression.  
        "I um, was wondering . . . if I it would be all right if . . ." the boy was talking in circles. Kiba realized he had better give Aibo another option if he wanted to get any sleep.Kiba rolled his eyes and asked, "Lonely?" Aibo nodded vigorously. "All right," Kiba sighed. He uncurled his front legs from underneath his body and stretched them out in front of himself. Aibo nestled up next to Kiba's stomach and laid his face into the wolf's shoulder. The child placed his hands on Kiba's forelegs and the wolf placed his head near Aibo's. Kiba curled his tail around the exposed side of Aibo's body. The whole scene looked like Kiba had protectively wrapped himself around the boy.  
        At that very moment a new threat was approaching unbeknownst to the wolves. A large airship from a foreign land was on a course headed for their city. Lord Orkham was aboard this ship paying a visit to its his host. He stood outside a large pair of double doors while his arrival was being announce to the lord in charge of the airship. An attendant approached a long staircase which led up to an elevated throne. She wore an open top black dress that left her shoulders bare and had knee high slits on both sides. Her skin was ashen in color and her raven colored hair matched her dress perfectly in shade. She also wore a silk cloak that was attached to the back of the dress's shoulders and again at the wrists. The attendant's face was expressionless as she climbed the stairs. A few steps below where her master sat she stopped and knelt, "The noble, Orkham, is here to see you lord Dark." The noble motioned for the attendant to arise.  
        "Let him in," the lord commanded. Dark stood and proceeded down the stairs. The noble wore a long black robe with a crimson sash tied around the waist that reached all the way to the bottom of the robe in the front. His hair was long and black. It grew to just past waist length. Most of his hair when down along his back with some draped on each side of his neck in the front. He wore an ivory mask over his face like most other nobles, but his had an opening at the bottom which showed his mouth and chin. The mask came to two sharp points on either side of his chin. There were also no openings for the eyes, yet it seemed that lord Dark could see just fine without them. Dark had descended the staircase when Orkham was finally let into the throne room.  
        "Power of body, mind, and spirit. Hail to the Dynasty," Orkham saluted his ally from the far east. Dark chuckled lightly.  
        "Now then, Orkham. There is no need for that jargon the old guard favors when you are in my presence. So how is the progress on project Shadow Gemini?"  
        "The data extrapolation will be at twenty-five percent by the morning, lord Dark. However, there is a problem."  
        "Oh, go on," Dark calmly responded.  
        "It's Darcia. He is getting impatient. That noble has been breathing down the necks of my research staff constantly. So far I have had the scientists feed him false information, but we still don't have enough information on the flower maiden to proceed with the Dynasty's plan. I think it is best to proceed with a dissection of the specimen. This will greatly increase the completion speed of Shadow Gemini."  
        "Orkham, even if your scientists fail to gather the necessary data, mine are more than capable of finishing up so long as we get the flower maiden intact and ALIVE." Dark raised his right hand with his palm upwards and his fingers in a semi-grasping position. As he did this Orkham was lifted of the ground the seemingly nothing! Orkham started to make chocking sounds as though his air was being cut off by an unseen force. "You are not in this alliance to think! You are merely kept alive to do as you are told! Screw up and you will be exterminated. Do we have an understanding?" Orkham nodded, but he was barely able to move at all. Dark dropped his hand and Orkham instantly fell to the ground gasping for air.  
        "F-f-forgive me, lord Dark," the old man pleaded.  
        "If I hadn't, your neck would have been crushed," Dark coldly replied. "We need the flower maiden alive," Dark emphasized every word. "Everything falls through if she dies."  
        "Sir, so you are aware, I do not trust Darcia. He will try to steal the flower maiden at the first opportunity he gets."  
        "The Dynasty lord has already assured you that Darcia will be dealt with. And once he is out of the way then we will eliminate Jagara. Hers is the only significant military power in the west region other than your own. Once the other nobles are disposed of you will be instituted as lord over the entire western region, just as we have promised."  
        "And I will hold up my end of the bargain by retrieving the flower maiden for the Dynasty. It is an incredible irony that Darcia is the only one with the knowledge of how to create the flower maiden."  
        "You just have to understand how the events work, Orkham. The events of past cycles will always repeat themselves in future cycles."  
        "Excuse me?" Orkham asked confused.  
        "It is nothing you need to worry about," Dark replied. Then he whispered to himself, "I"m coming for you Cheza. This time there will be no escape for you and the others. After seven thousand years of imprisonment, the seal was finally released and I will finish what I started."  
  
Okay, it's finished. So you know the boy's name is pronouced 'I-bo'. It is the long 'i' and long 'o' sound. It is Japanese and to the best of my knowledge it means: companion or cherished one. The meaning will be important later on hint, hint. I love foreshadowing : ) Please let me know what you think. I really appreciate signed reviews and if you want I'll check out your writing. However, I also appreciate anonymous reviews, as well, and I have adjusted my settings to accept them. 


	3. Bittersweet Goodbyes

Sorry it took a while to get this chapter up. I found that I really had to cut it in half because it was getting too long, ten thousand words long. However, chapter four should be up in less time than what it took me to post this one. In this chapter, the big bad wolves pay a visit to grandma's house. Ha, ha that's my cut up joke. Well, here it is, enjoy. :-)  
This is a repost. There were some errors that a reviewer brought to my attention, so I fixed them. I am having a lot of trouble with the posting system. Things just simply are not showing up when they should be there. If anyone has any suggestions they will be greatly appreciated. By the way, I use a Macintosh computer and I don't have Microsoft Word. I know, that there is probably the source of all my problems. Enought rambling, on to the chapter!  
  
Episode 03: Bittersweet Goodbyes  
        The piercing shriek of an electric alarm clock was sounding itself inside a quaint apartment building. A woman stirred in her bed as the clock continued screaming. Cher sat up and brushed strands of her blonde hair away from her face. She reached over to the night stand and pressed a button on top of the clock, finally silencing the mechanical banshee. Cher sighed and said to herself, "I can't believe it's morning already." She glanced at the clock and gasped in surprise. "I thought I set this thing earlier than that. Hubb is going to be here any minute. Ugh, I have to get ready."  
        Just then Cher heard a knock on her apartment door. Hubb always had a habit of being early when it came to seeing her. She remembered that when they were dating, he would show up two hours early on average just to be with her. It kind of got to be smothering, but Cher could never complain that Hubb didn't pay attention to her. She looked out the window near her bed and caught a view of the cityscape. The sun was already beginning to rise over the tops of the buildings. Quickly, Cher made her way to the door. Sure enough Hubb was standing on the other side and he was a little surprised to see Cher standing there in her nightgown.  
        "Uh, you always answer the door in the morning like that," he asked being a bit coy. Cher glanced down at her nightgown only for an instant.  
        "I knew it was you, Hubb. You're the only one who shows up two hours early, just to see me," she countered.  
        "Ah, so you remembered." Hubb smirked at the thought that she still remembered their dates.  
        "Just come in already," Cher said rolling her eyes. She backed away from the door and motioned for Hubb to wait on the couch. He plopped himself on the couch's lavender cushions while Cher retreated to her bedroom. A few minutes later she reappeared wearing a loose fitting robin's egg blue one-piece dress with string shoulder straps. She wrapped a scarf around her neck and pinned it together with a simple brooch draping the two ends on her left shoulder. The scarf had a random pattern of mostly bright floral colors. It was a gift Hubb had given her a while back. Cher remembered how she commented on Hubb's terrible fashion sense and this dress was the only thing she could find to wear with the scarf. She wore a matching white handbag on her right shoulder suspended from a strap that let the bag hang down to her waist. "You know, Hubb, you really should give that tired old suit a rest." Hubb was wearing the same suit he always did. It had a blue shirt, black tie, ashen gray over coat and pants, and on top of that he wore his favorite trench coat. Cher had always despised that thing. She told Hubb on more than one occasion that he would be better off burning it rather than keeping that old coat. Of course, Hubb never did listen to Cher about clothing.  
        "Oh here, this is for you," Hubb said handing Cher a paper cup with a plastic lid. Steam escaped from the cup as Cher removed the lid. She could smell a hint of vanilla mixed with the aroma of the coffee. Even though she had never been a big coffee drinker, Hubb still remember the only kind Cher could stand to drink. "I knew you'd be tired regardless. You've been putting in a lot of late nighters recently."  
        "I'm all right, Hubb. You don't need to worry about me." She smiled while sipping the coffee. Almost immediately, Cher could feel herself perk up a bit. However, she hated caffeine because in about three hours she would come crashing down again as soon as it wore off. Then the only options would be to drink more or suffer the fatigue. Cher only took a few more sips and then set the cup down, with most of the liquid still in it, on the table she kept near the kitchen area. "We should get going."  
        "There's no need to rush. You can take some time to wake up first."  
        "If you wanted me to be wide awake, then you shouldn't have come so early." Hubb stood up and held out his arm for Cher. She slid her arm inside his interlocking their elbows. The pair exited the apartment and headed down to Hubb's car. Hubb was perplexed as to why Cher had wanted to see him so suddenly. She had just called him out of the blue yesterday and he was trying to make sense of it, but to no avail. So Hubb just resigned himself to be happy with the time that his love wanted to spend with him. As they reached the car, Hubb opened the door for Cher. Once she was seated, he climbed into the driver's seat through the other door.  
        "So, where do you want to go?" Hubb asked Cher with noticeable uncertainty. She had only said that she needed to see him claiming that there was something they needed to talk about.  
        "Let's go to the park. The one where we first met." Hubb started the car and took off. The pair of former lovers rode in silence. After they arrived, Hubb escorted Cher into the park. It was mostly an open field of grass. There were several bushes, trees, flowers, and vines here and there, but the plant growth wasn't particularly dense.  
        Cher began to reminisce talking about times long past. Hubb joined in and they conversed for quite a long time about the love they once shared. The pair swapped stories of some of their favorite and most humorous experiences during their old relationship. Hubb was enjoying every moment of Cher's company and felt like falling for her all over again, however, he couldn't help but notice that she seemed distant. Her mind was somewhere else. Eventually, their stories reached the time of their marriage. Cher became eerily quite as their conversation neared the time of their divorce. Finally, Hubb felt like he could ask the one question that had been burning in his mind for years, and it seemed to him that Cher knew it was coming.  
        "Cher, I have to ask you something. Why did . . . you leave me?" Cher chuckled slightly and gave a half smile.  
        "I had wondered when you would finally ask that. You never said anything about it during the divorce. You just went along with whatever I wanted. It was like the whole thing wasn't real to you." Cher paused for a while and Hubb looked at her rather concerned.  
        "Cher, are you all right?"  
        "You want to know something, Hubb? Even though you let me leave, you never really let go of me. You've held onto me for all these years, even after we were divorced. Hubb, I have to leave. I'm going on a long trip. I don't know if I'll ever be able to come back."  
        "But Cher . . . you can't. Why? Is it because of that time?" Hubb pleaded. Cher did not answer. "Cher, please, tell me what it is."  
        "Hubb . . . I need you to let go of me."  
        "What are you talking about? Cher, you're not making any sense!" Hubb was getting frustrated.  
        "There is something that I have to find out. I need you to let go. I need to move on, and I can't do that if you're still living in the past holding onto me. Hubb, I can't live in the past, but you've been holding me there."  
        "Cher . . ." Hubb looked at her sadly. So then, did this mean that she really didn't have feelings for him any more? He slumped his shoulders and hung his head, "I guess if that's how you really feel, then you should go. I won't stop you."  
        "Hubb, if you really can let go of the past, then come look for me." Hubb looked up in surprised at Cher. She already walking away. There was a taxi waiting for her by the curb. As she opened the car door, she turned around one last time. Cher gave Hubb a slight wave as she sat down into the car. Then the door closed and the taxi speed away disappearing into the distance. Hubb was left standing there alone with his jumbled thoughts. He started to move when he noticed something by his foot. It was Cher's handbag. Hubb picked it up and was surprised at how heavy it was. He opened it and found a strange device inside. It was a large rectangle with a circular screen. There was a note taped to the machine. It was Cher's hand writing. The note said: _Follow the flower._  
        As Cher sat in the taxi she contemplated whether or not Hubb would actually come after her. She was shaken from her thoughts when she heard her cell phone ringing. Immediately, she answered it.  
        "We don't have any more time to wait. Due to a change in circumstances we'll have to leave tonight. We have to take Cheza even if she hasn't awakened by then," it was Darcia.  
        "Understood, when should I meet you at the lab?"  
        "Midnight, don't be late." Cher heard the phone click off. Making the meeting time would not be a problem. She was ready to go at a moment's notice.  
        Meanwhile the wolves were busy with concerns of their own.  
        "Come on guys, why not?" Toboe whimpered to the older three wolves. Toboe had realized that it had been a full day without him going to check on Granny. He wanted to say goodbye before they left and he wanted the others to come with him.  
        "Because it's just a waist of time!" Tsume argued with the pup.  
        "Hey runt, she'll get over it and probably find some new pet," Hige teased.  
        "I'm not a pet!" Toboe said his frustration mounting.  
        "Toboe," Kiba finally stepped in, "we have to find the flower scent, don't you remember?"  
        "I know where it is," Aibo spoke up.  
        "Where," Kiba asked somewhat sharply.  
        "I'll take you there . . . after Toboe says goodbye to his granny." The boy had the older wolves and they didn't like it in the least. Kiba made a low growl, but Aibo held firm. Toboe ran to the outside of the rundown building they had been staying in. He was soon followed by Aibo and then the other three came reluctantly. Toboe and Aibo stopped momentarily to make sure the others were coming. Then the two youngsters broke out into a full run. Toboe was out in front, his bracelets clanking with every step. It was rather easy for the older three wolves to keep up with Toboe, but they followed behind since the rust colored wolf was their guide. It didn't take as long for them to reach the old woman's house as what they expected. Even Toboe was surprised.  
        "Wow, I thought it usually took longer to get here," Toboe thought out loud looking a little confused. "Hey, do any of you feel winded at all?" The other three looked surprised as they thought about it. The wolves had covered a considerable distance while running the whole way, but they felt only slightly fatigued.  
        That's when they saw Aibo smile and reply with a giggle, "You're welcome."  
        "Huh?" Hige said scratching his head.  
        "Guess I forgot to mention it, but that ability thing I told you about yesterday. Where Companions can mimic the strengths of wolves? Well, it sort of works in reverse, too." All four wolves stared at the boy waiting for an explanation. "You see, I can enhance your own natural abilities." The wolves just sighed and brushed it off. Oddities and miracles were starting to become everyday routine with this kid. They were going to have to learn not to be surprised every time Aibo did something new. Toboe bounded up to the door of Granny's house and gave out a shout.  
        "Granny! I'm home!"  
        "I'm in the back," came a faint response. Toboe looked back over his shoulder and motioned for everyone to follow him inside. One by one they filed into the old woman's house, though the elder three wolves were rather leery of the whole thing. Tsume was the most reluctant and last one to enter the house. Kiba stood off to the side, left of the door, with a disinterested look while Hige moved to the right sniffing the air to see if there was any food around. Aibo took a closer look at the large bookshelf, examining the contents closely. Toboe ran from the living room to the kitchen and cut a sharp about-face when he realized no one was following him. He trotted back to Tsume who was still standing in the doorway.  
        "Come on, this way everyone!" Toboe enthusiastically directed. The youngster grabbed Tsume's right wrist and dragged his silver haired companion to the hallway connected to the left side of the kitchen. Kiba and Hige followed at a distance, but the four wolves completely forgot about Aibo who was now examining a black book, with a silver decoration on its cover, which he had pulled from the bookshelf. The small hallway ended promptly at the door to Granny's bedroom. Toboe was certain this was where the old woman's voice had come from. The door was cracked open slightly. Toboe threw the door open with Tsume still being towed behind the young wolf. Directly in front of them lay the old woman in a small single person bed. She was sitting upright with her pillows wedged behind her back to prop herself into position.  
        "Toboe! I'm so glad to see you're back. And you brought your friend from before," the old woman greeted the two wolves fondly. Then Kiba and Hige walked in, "Oh, and it seems you've brought more friends with you this time, hmm?" Granny observed. Kiba scanned the room back and forth several times. "There's no reason to worry. It is only me, a bedridden old woman," she assured the blue eyed boy standing before her. Kiba was a bit taken back by her perceptiveness. Kiba didn't like being around humans, and he was only here for the pup's benefit and Aibo's cooperation.  
        "Granny, are you okay? You don't look so well," Toboe whimpered as he kneeled beside the old woman's bed. The old woman chuckled a bit and placed a hand on the pup's cheek.  
        "I'm fine, Toboe. I was just a little tired today. That's all, really," she reassured the young wolf with a smile. Toboe turned into his rust-colored wolf form and licked the old woman affectionately on her cheek. She gave Toboe a hug around his furry neck before he sat back down on the floor and returned to his human form. "Now then, I already know Tsume," Granny nodded to the leather clad young man standing near Toboe, "but who are these two?" She nodded towards the other wolves.  
        "That's Kiba and the other one is Hige." Each wolf nodded as their names were called.  
        "Well, it's very nice to meet you." Granny held out her hand to the two wolves. Kiba and Hige just stared both a little uncomfortable. "It's all right, you don't have to if you don't want to," the old woman cordially assured the wolves. Finally, Hige walked over and shook the old woman's hand.  
        "So, the runt here is your pet?" Hige teased. Toboe was about argue back, but Granny spoke up first.  
        "Technically, you're the only one wearing a collar," she countered. Hige looked dumbfounded. The other three wolves all snickered lightly. "Toboe was never my pet. I hope we are clear on that matter," she stated firmly. "He is just as much a wolf as any of you."  
        "Why's everyone so serious in here?" Aibo's voice broke in with a rather perky tone. He was carrying the book he had been inspecting earlier and a small shiny object.  
        It was a small dagger that looked like it had more decorative than practical purposes. The handle was gold colored and had a spiral design all along it. A semitransparent crimson sphere was embedded into the handle at about three-fourths of the handle's length away from the blade. The sphere's width was twice that of the handle pieces on either side of it. The blade was a silver colored metal that looked like it had a hollow tube running through its middle and up into the shaft of the handle.  
        "Um, can I ask where you got these ma'am?" the boy held up the objects in his hands.  
        "I've always had them. They have been in my family for a long time," Granny explained. "Why do you ask?"  
        "You're . . . not human, are you?" Aibo tilted his head to one side. The old woman's eyes widened in surprise at first, but then her expression changed to one of realization.  
        "No, I'm not . . . not completely. However, neither are you, correct?" she raised an eyebrow at the boy. Aibo nodded and smiled. The four wolves exchanged glances knowing that they were missing out on something.  
        "All right spill it, what's the big secret you two?" Hige insisted looking back and forth between the boy and the old woman.  
        "My mother's mother was one who walked with wolves. My mother's father was human," Granny cryptically replied.  
        "Huh? Are you saying you're like the kid here?" Hige scratched his head trying to make sense of it.  
        "My grandmother was a Companion, but neither her nor my mother were like this child," Granny explained shaking her head. "There is something very different about you," she stated staring at Aibo.  
        "Well, I suppose you could say that," he replied anxiously.  
        "He does smell like lunar flowers, just a little bit," Toboe offered hoping to dismiss their concerns.  
        "Hmm," the old woman pondered resting her chin on her hand. "That's . . . very odd. I know Companions are supposed to carry the scent of human and wolf, but lunar flower, as well?" There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments before Granny decided to speak again. "I never did get your name, young one. What is it?" she had chosen to abandon the previous topic.  
        "Aibo," he answered sheepishly.  
        "Well, what have you got there?"  
        "I was wondering why you had a copy of the Book of the Moon and this dagger."  
        "What do you know about the Book of the Moon, child?"  
        "I know that it wasn't written by a human. Red Moon, the book's author, was a Companion not a human, and this book was never intended for human eyes."  
        "Interesting, how does one so young know so much about the secrets of the Companions?"  
        "It's . . . a rather long and difficult story," Aibo almost looked like he was going to cry as he said this. Apparently, it struck close to a very painful memory.  
        "It is all right. Do not force yourself to tell it now." Aibo nodded compliantly. "Well you are certainly correct in what you know about the Book of the Moon. In fact, humans can not read it even they tried. Their eyes are unable to see the true words inscribed upon its pages. The only thing humans see is a jumbled rambling which they perceive to be the words of a lunatic," Granny explained.  
        "It is also that lack of understanding that caused the humans to fear and hunt us," Aibo added.  
        "Aibo?" Kiba said with concern in his voice placing his hand on the child's shoulder.  
        Toboe's granny nodded in agreement with Aibo's words and replied, "Human's feared Companions and hunted them. Only a handful still survive in this world, and soon we will die out completely." Toboe looked scared at this comment. "Oh, do not worry, Toboe. I'm not going anywhere," she smiled reassuring the pup. "Toboe, why don't you and Hige go fetch something to eat from the kitchen I'm certain all of you are starved by now." Toboe was reluctant to leave still worried about Granny, but he obeyed. Hige didn't have any complaints about this task. Once the two wolves left the bedroom, Granny directed her attention to the remaining wolves. Kiba, was it? And Tsume, there is something I have to discuss with you. Aibo, you can stay, but will you please close the door?" The child did as he was told and remained in front of the door.  
        "So what's on your mind this time?" Tsume asked disinterested and grumpy while crossing his arms.  
        "Toboe brought you all here for more than to just say hello, didn't he?" Granny questioned the two wolves.  
        "We're going to find Paradise," Kiba calmly answered.  
        "All of you, together?" she asked. Kiba nodded. "I understand. Then, even though this is goodbye, I am glad. I am glad that he has found friends . . . and thank you."  
        "For what?"  
        "For letting me see Toboe again before my time is up."  
        "What are you talking about?" Tsume demanded.  
        "Is something wrong?" Kiba asked. The old woman sighed and nodded.  
        "I am dying."  
        "What, how?" The old woman pushed up her sleeve in response to the white wolf's question. There were red spots all up along her arm.  
        "I see, it's a disease that comes from living among only humans for too long," Aibo explained. "The disease takes many years to nearly a lifetime in order to develop, and it gets worse over time if there is no exposure to a wolf pack. Thus you can see, the fate of all Companions is inexorably tied to and dependent upon wolves. We can't survive without wolves, plain and simple. Yet neither are we happy without them," the child thoughtfully added.  
        "It will claim me tonight, when the full moon rises. I hope that you five will be out of the city by then," Granny said.  
        "But there isn't supposed to be any moon tonight," Kiba reasoned.  
        "The full moon always watches over the arrival and departure of a Companion from this world. We will see one tonight," Aibo answered.  
        "Then why haven't you told Toboe yet? That's pretty damn selfish, old woman. He has the right to know. It's the least he deserves, and besides I thought you cared about him." To everyone's surprise it was Tsume who spoke, and rather angrily at that. The leather clad young man had his hands on his hips and was glaring at the old woman. Granny was taken aback at first then she smiled.  
        "I though you and Toboe weren't friends," she prodded Tsume.  
        "Oh shut up," the gray wolf growled. Granny laughed audibly.  
        "I want Toboe's memories of me to be pleasant ones. I don't want to scar him with the memory of a sick feeble old woman who eventually left him all alone." The two wolves turned to the door as someone's shouting caught the attention of everyone present in the room.  
        "Hey guys, come on! I found something," Toboe was calling from the kitchen. Kiba and Tsume glanced back from the door to the old woman.  
        "It's all right. I'll be fine, you three go on and eat. Help yourselves to whatever you can find. I think it's time I wrote a letter anyway." Kiba walked out first followed by Tsume, after he glanced back at the old woman one last time. Aibo stayed behind, however. Once he was sure that the wolves were gone, the boy approached the old woman.  
        "You know, with this I could . . ." Aibo started holding up the dagger.  
        "NO," Granny stated firmly. "Besides it only works for a certain race."  
        "It will work for me. I'm different. It is possible if you would just let me . . ."  
        "I said NO. I wouldn't think of asking one so young to make such a sacrifice! It may very well kill you if you tried it. I forbid it!"  
        "But it shouldn't be as dangerous for me . . . and it could save you." Aibo kept protesting, but Granny would cut him off quick as lightening before he could get the proposal out.  
        "I can't ask you to waste a gift so precious on one so old as I. It is my time and besides," Granny paused for a moment, "It is better this way. It will sever my little Toboe's attachment to this city. He'll be able to focus on getting to Paradise with the rest of you. And I would wager, if I was a gambling woman mind you, that this journey will take all that you five have got in order for you all to survive."  
        "Toboe . . . it is going to be hard on him. Dealing with your death, you know?"  
        "I know. I have known for a long time that this disease would be the death of me. I was already stricken with it when I found Toboe at the entrance to the dome. The poor thing. He was just a baby, so small and alone. He was shivering wrapped up in some old rags when I noticed him. He fit right into the palm of my hand." The old woman cupped her hands together as she fondly remembered the days she spent raising the infant wolf. "It was three weeks before his eyes finally opened for the first time. He was so sweet and he still is. Oh, but listen to me ramble on like this. You shouldn't distract an old woman who doesn't have much time left, you know. I'm going to write a farewell letter to Toboe. Will you read it to him once you all are away from the city?" Aibo nodded, then the child left at the old woman's request.  
        Coming out of Granny's room Aibo found the wolves already digging into several different kinds of meats that the old woman had stocked away. Hige was gnawing on some dried meat while reclining on one of the kitchen chairs that accompanied the small dining table. Kiba, sitting on the couch in the living room, was already sinking his fangs into a raw steak Toboe had pulled from the Granny's icebox. The pup was standing in front of Tsume offering him the second and last raw steak. The gray wolf looked annoyed as he took the meat from Toboe. Tsume clamped his teeth into the meat and tore it in half, one piece in his hand and the other in his teeth. He quickly scarfed down what was in his mouth and then tossed the other half he held in his hand back to Toboe.  
        "Here," Tsume grunted. Toboe caught it awkwardly with both hands.  
        "Thanks!" the pup beamed back at his idol. Tsume just ignored Toboe as the pup happily enjoyed his gift.  
        Then Kiba noticed Aibo standing all alone watching everyone else. "Hey, you hungry?" Kiba asked motioning to the unfinished portion of the steak he had been eating. Aibo walked over to the blue eyed young man and sniffed the meat cautiously.  
        "I've . . . never tried it raw before." However, not wanting to make Kiba think he was ungrateful for the offer, Aibo took a small bite of the meat Kiba held in his hand.  
        "Uh, I could've torn some off for you." Kiba eyed the child, a little confused at the moment. Aibo was quick to apologize.  
        "Oh, sorry." Kiba shrugged.  
        "So, what did you think about your first taste of raw meat?"  
        "It . . . tastes a little funny," Aibo directed a confused look at the white wolf. Kiba made a sound that resembled muffled laughter or a chuckle.  
        "Yeah, it's better fresh when you catch the prey yourself and it is still warm," he explained.  
        "You think you could teach me?" Aibo looked up at Kiba sheepishly with hope in his eyes.  
        "Huh?" The wolf was puzzled. "I guess, but . . ." Kiba would have continued, however, he paused when Aibo hugged him in response to agreeing to teach him. _Why is this kid always clinging to me?_ Kiba wondered. The child hung onto the wolf several moments more before letting go. Kiba finished the rest of the steak when Aibo declined having any more. The dark brown haired child sat close next to Kiba on the couch just staring at the wolf. "What?" There was a hint of annoyance in Kiba's voice. Aibo was able to detect it instantly and looked somewhat fearful.  
        "I'm sorry," his voice quivered as he apologized. Aibo quickly fixed his gaze downward and fidgeted with his fingers. The child looked pitiful, just like a puppy that had been scolded.  
        Kiba sighed, "I'm not angry. Now will you just tell what it is that's on your mind?"  
        "Well, it is just that . . . Kiba . . . I . . . you are . . ." Aibo looked like he was trying to say something, but at the same time also trying to stop himself from saying it. The child bit his lip and hung his head closing his eyes as they started to water. Then it hit Kiba like a ton of bricks.  
        "Hey, it's okay," Kiba said softly, trying to gently soothe the child. The wolf put his arms around Aibo and pulled the boy onto his lap. Aibo buried his face into Kiba's chest hugging the white wolf and began to cry letting out a squeak now and then from sobbing. _Aibo misses his parents_, Kiba thought, _it must be too painful for him to put it into words._ Finally, it made some sense to Kiba. Aibo had never had time to work through the grief and emotional pain during his search for them. Kiba figured that the child had just buried the pain, and now it was surfacing again since his search was over. It surprised Kiba when he found himself sympathizing with Aibo because of the similarity between their individual losses. Both of them had lost their families at an early age, yet when Kiba lost his pack he was younger than Aibo.  
        Aibo turned his head sideways after a good while so he could talk. "You . . . are so much nicer than I could have hoped," he said as a way of thanking Kiba. However, Kiba felt a little awkward not really having any experience in dealing with children.  
        Eventually, the others noticed Kiba and Aibo. It was a side of Kiba they had never seen before. "Uh, are you okay, Aibo?" Toboe asked causing the scene to break up. Aibo dried his face with the sleeve of his yellow jacket.  
        "Yeah, thanks. I'm fine now," he smiled at the wolves. "So how about we go find the flower maiden?" Kiba, Hige, Toboe, and even Tsume responded positively to this though each in their own unique ways. Hige and Toboe went bright eyed and nearly jumped, but Kiba and Tsume kept their clam facades each giving only a slight smile. Toboe went back into Granny's room one last time.  
        "We're going now," Toboe said sadly.  
        "Good, and Toboe I wish you a safe journey," Granny replied. Toboe and Granny embraced each other one last time. "Don't forget Toboe, that no matter where you are, you always have my love." Toboe left the old woman's bedroom and passed Tsume on the way out. The gray wolf was standing in the doorway. "Tsume," she called out to him after Toboe was gone.  
        "What?" he gruffly replied.  
        "I want to ask you for a favor."  
        "Well?" Tsume was starting to get irritated.  
        "Please, take care of him. Take care of my little Toboe. Please watch over him."  
        "I'm not a baby-sitter," Tsume replied crossing his arms.  
        "Please," Granny looked at the leather clad wolf with pleading eyes. Tsume could tell she was desperate and serious.  
        "All right, fine. I'll watch out for him. Happy?" Tsume sounded a bit more cross than what he really was, but he didn't need Granny to answer. Her face said it all.  
        "Give this letter to Toboe after you five have left the city," the old woman tossed the wolf an envelope, which he promptly stuffed into his leather jacket. "Oh, could I ask for one more favor? May I see you as a wolf?  
        As Granny asked this, Tsume remembered what Aibo had said about Companions and wolves, so he didn't give a protest as he shifted to his wolf form. Granny looked in wonder and awe as she ran her eyes over Tsume's gray fur and the cross-shaped scar on his chest. Tsume walked over to Granny's bedside and, albeit reluctantly, licked her hand and let the old woman stroke his fur on his head, neck, and back. The gray wolf figured it would probably help the woman die in peace if she felt she had a wolf's approval of her life. The old woman laid back down in her bed and got comfortable so she could take a nap. Then the five of them left Granny's house.  
  
Well, I hoped you liked it. I know it's a lot of dialog, but there's going to be more action in the next chapter. Besides I like writing in dialog format. I think it makes it feel like you are seeing it while the events are happening. Anyway, please leave a review with any thoughts or comments or tips. I, as always, look forward to reading them even if it is just to say you liked it. :-) 


	4. The Wolf, the Flower Maiden, and the Nob...

All right, chapter four is finally up. The action picks up a bit in this chapter and the plot thickens. Please leave a reivew to let me know if you liked it. Thank you in advance. Now on to the chapter.  
  
Episode 04: The Wolf, the Flower Maiden, and the Noble  
        It was still early afternoon as Aibo lead the wolves to the center of town heading in the direction of the large building that housed the lab where Cheza was waiting. The five of them were a rather odd looking group as the walked down the city sidewalks. Aibo, the shortest of all, was out in front with Toboe. The two of them were chattering away. Kiba and Hige kept pace with one another in the middle and Tsume trailed in the back. Apparently, he was the only one who thought this looked weird.  
        He stopped for a moment and took in the surroundings. Soon Tsume, along with the others, would be leaving this city behind. However, he couldn't help but think about how they were going to survive on the outside. Finally, Tsume decided to shake it off. It wasn't going to do him any good mulling over it now. _Guess we'll just learn to deal with hunger or get good at hunting_, he decided. Then something caught the gray wolf's eye. It was Gehl, and he was with that girl Toboe had shown himself to. The girl's father was standing near them talking to one of the street merchants. Gehl spotted Tsume and after a few words to the girl ran over to the gang leader.  
        "Uh, hi Tsume." Gehl's voice was awkward.  
        Tsume raised an eyebrow. "What?"  
        "I um, I'm leaving the gang." Gehl looked a little scared not sure of how his former leader would react.  
        "Good for you, kid," Tsume nodded being genuine, not sarcastic.  
        "You're . . . not mad?"  
        Tsume shrugged, "It's already broken up. There's no point in trying to get everyone back together again. Tell Seto for me if you see him."  
        "Why? Are you going somewhere?"  
        "Yeah, I'm leaving this city."  
        "All right. Well, I hope we meet again someday. Oh by the way, Leara, that girl over there. Her father decided to take me in. So, I guess I've got a family now."  
        "I happy for ya, kid. See you around." Tsume walked away following the others and waved a hand at Gehl without turning around.  
        "See you around, Tsume!" Gehl called out and then ran back over to Leara and her father.  
        "Who was that?" Kiba asked looking back at Tsume.  
        "Just someone I know," Tsume put it in a matter of fact way.  
        The sun had set by the time they reached the lab and the perimeter was swarming with guards. "Geeze, there's no way we're getting there. The security's too tight. We gotta think of something else," Hige pondered.  
        "I can get us in," Aibo chirped up.  
        "Yeah, how?" Hige wasn't going to believe it until he saw it.  
        "Come on, just walk right in and act natural."  
        "You have to be kidding me."  
        "Trust me. It'll work." It went against Hige's better judgment, but he finally chose to go along with it. Maybe the kid would surprise them again. The group strode right up to the front door. None of the guards paid any attention to them. The wolves eyed the guards warily not really understanding what was going on. Then as they reached the door one of the guards took notice of the group. Kiba was ready to pounce on the guy, but Aibo spoke up in a whisper.  
        "Don't move! Just look at him," Aibo instructed the wolves.   
        "Oh here, let me get that for you." The guard walked over and swiped a card through a notch next to a keypad and lights. One of the lights light up green and the latch on the door clicked open.  
        "Hey, thanks," Toboe blurted out.  
        "Ah, just doing my job," the guard replied holding the door open for the five of them. Once they were inside and away from any other people Tsume decided to press Aibo for an explanation.  
        "Okay, what's going on?"  
        "Remember how I said I can mimic your abilities? Well, instead of seeing your human forms they just saw a group of scientists. I can enhance and imitate your ability to conceal yourselves by creating a illusion over your human forms."  
        "This is getting annoying. Next time, tell us what you're going to do _before_ you do it!"  
        "Do you want to stand here lecturing me or do you want to find the flower maiden?" That ended the discussion. They walked further on through one hallway after another. Kiba perked up because he could smell the scent of lunar flowers and it was quite strong. Soon the other wolves noticed it, too. Finally, Aibo came to a halt in front of a room just before where Cheza was kept. Kiba was almost in a sort of trance. He could feel the flower maiden's presence so very close now. Aibo had to grab the white wolf to snap him out of it because he almost walked into the next room.  
        "What are you doing? Let's go," Kiba insisted.  
        "It won't do any good to get caught now after having come this far," Aibo explained pointing to a woman standing in the next room. She was pacing back and forth nervously. Just behind the woman were the doors leading into the room where Cheza was sleeping. The woman pulled out a cell phone from her coat pocket and pressed a few buttons.  
        "Darcia, we've got a problem. There's a lot more security here than I anticipated. Something is up. I need you to get here as soon a possible." The woman was Cher. She continued speaking with the noble filling him in on the situation as he gave her instructions. Cher turned and faced the wall leaving her back to the room. Aibo had been watching her from the hallway and now he signaled for everyone to make a run for the doors. It wasn't much of a problem for four wolves to make a short run silently. Soon the five of them were through the doors without Cher even noticing their presence.  
        "Who was that?" Tsume thought aloud.  
        "Cher Degre. She helped create Cheza right here in this lab," Aibo explained. "Although last time, she merely studied Cheza, looking for a way to awaken her."  
        "How do you know all this?"  
        "I told you already; the events of past cycles repeat themselves in future ones, just not always in the same manner. I'm trying to break the cycle by having you four do things differently. Hopefully that will be enough." Kiba drifted over to tube where Cheza slept. He was completely entranced.  
        "Cheza," Kiba whispered placing his hand on the glass as he gazed up at the sleeping flower maiden. "Come on, we have to get her out of there!" Kiba demanded earnestly.  
        "Let's wake her up, first. Kiba, did you know that she can sense yours, Tsume's, Toboe's, and Hige's presence. Just look at her face." The wolves looked at Cheza and a smile started to appear on her face. She leaned forward against the supports that held her in the tube. There were gold rings around her wrists and neck with chains made of small golden balls. Two silver metal hooks around her underarms supported the majority of her weight. "Cheza is already responding to all of you. If we could just stimulate her a little more she'll wake up."  
        "How are we supposed to do that?" Tsume queried Aibo.  
        "Well, last time blood did the trick. Wolf's blood, though, it had to be wolf's blood."  
        "All right," Kiba replied, but his tone was weird. He sounded like he had just figured out what he needed to do. Kiba pulled back his right arm smashed his fist into the glass.  
        "What the hell are you doing?" Hige panicked. Immediately, cracks began to appear. Kiba clenched his teeth as he pressed his fist harder and harder into the glass. Finally, the tube shattered to pieces. Glass fell everywhere and the green liquid spilled all over the floor. Blood covered Kiba's hand and forearm. Gashes had been carved into him from the glass shards.  
        "Kiba!" Aibo cried in fright and worry as he watched blood drip from the wolf's hand.  
        "It had to be done," Kiba replied calm and focused as ever. "Besides, they're just scratches." He brushed it off like it was nothing. Aibo still looked worried about Kiba, but the child's eyes also held something else, another emotion. It was great admiration for the white wolf.  
        "Ahh," came a soft sound which caught all their attention. Everyone looked back at Cheza. Her mouth was open and slowly she made small gasps breathing in air for the first time. Her eyes were just slightly open, yet still everyone could see their pink and blood red color. Kiba jumped into the remains of the Cheza's tube and broke her chains before lifting her from the metal hooks. Tsume walked over took Cheza as Kiba lowered her, though, Kiba was reluctant to let go of her. Cheza laid face up on Tsume's arms as he held her. She was waking up, but slowly. Kiba jumped down from the tube and Aibo ran over to him.  
        "Here, let me see your hand," the child instructed.  
        "It's fine," Kiba stated.  
        "Just do it," Aibo insisted. The wolf held out his hand for Aibo to inspect. Aibo carefully turned Kiba's injured hand palm up and gently pressed it between his own hands. Kiba made a slight sound from pain, but nothing that betrayed his tough guy appearance. A pale green glow exuded from the child's hands. A few moments later the cuts on Kiba's hand and forearm were closed and all traces of them disappeared. There weren't even scars left.  
        "How . . ." Kiba started.  
        "I can accelerate your own natural ability to heal, and I can heal faster just by being around you guys," Aibo quickly explained.  
        Tsume gave half a chuckle, "That explains how you healed so quickly after I found you." Aibo nodded in confirmation.  
        "Who are you people, and what are you doing with Cheza?!!" Cher stood in the doorway glaring at all of them. She had heard the loud noises and came to investigate. However, the woman had no idea what she was confronting.  
        "We're leaving, Cher. And we are taking Cheza with us," Aibo stated firmly. Cher just blinked and went wide-eyed.  
        "Wha . . . How did you know my name? Never mind, give Cheza back now!" she demanded.  
        "No! She's coming with us!" Kiba shouted back staring at Cher angrily.  
        "Is that so?" came a deep calm voice. Darcia appeared next Cher and then advanced into the room. He was wearing a black feathered headdress and a white mask with a patch over the left eye. "Wolves?" the noble said as he glanced around at everyone. Fear crept over Cher's face.  
        "What? Where?"   
        Darcia laughed briefly before explaining, "I'm certain you know that they say wolves have been extinct for two hundred years, however, here they stand before you with the flower maiden. Now hand her over!" Darcia approached Tsume who was still holding Cheza. As the noble did so Kiba jumped between them. "Move wolf!" Darcia clenched his fists.  
        "What a minute. Darcia, you and Cher . . . are working together?" Aibo asked in confusion. However, he got Darcia's attention. Darcia stared straight at Aibo.  
        "What . . . are you?" the noble asked.  
        "This is really different than anything from before. You never teamed up with anyone else before."  
        "Boy, how do you know me?" Darcia was growing irritated at Aibo's seemingly absent absentmindedness as the child continued talking to himself.  
        "All right, let's call a truce for now, okay? And, sufficet to say, for right now we both just want to get Cheza out of this place, right?" Aibo proposed.  
        "Fine, this way," Darcia directed everyone. He didn't seem pleased, but this was only a temporary arrangement.  
        Darcia left the room leading everyone down an adjacent hall. There was a small door at the end. He opened it and motioned for everyone to follow. By now Kiba had taken Cheza from Tsume. Her eyes were halfway open and she was starting to look at her surroundings. The group travailed through a small passageway which put them outside, behind the lab and away from the guards. Darcia continued to lead the group through back ways and passages of the city until they came to large open area, surrounded by buildings, near the dome's exit. There sat Darcia's airship ready to take off. However, a large group of soldiers were surrounding the ship. Then another detachment of soldiers encircled the area trapping the wolves, Aibo, Darcia, Cher, and Cheza. Each and every soldier was armed with an automatic rifle type of gun.  
        "These soldiers don't belong to Orkham," Darcia noted.  
        "How perceptive of you, lord Darcia. You . . . weren't thinking of betraying our partnership by stealing the flower maiden now, were you?" a voice taunted them. It was Orkham, himself. He emerged from among the soldiers to confront the group. "Dr. Degre, I'm very disappointed with you. You were quite a promising scientist, however, there are plenty more where you came from." Orkham laughed to himself. He was going savor this moment and gloat for all he was worth. "There . . . are quite a few benefits to making friends with the nobles of the far east. In fact, these hybrid soldiers are just one such benefit."  
        "Hybrid soldiers? You mean they're genetically engineered?" Cher asked.  
        "Quite correct, Doctor. You are an astute woman," a cold voice came from behind Orkham. Another figure appeared and moved ahead of Orkham. "However, hybrid denotes that they were crossed with something else. Imagine the possibilities when you hybridize a human with a wolf. However, these are mere prototypes. The real masterpieces are much more," the figure paused for a moment, "interesting, I assure you."  
        "Who the hell are you?!" Kiba shouted.  
        "Ah, pardon me. I am called lord Dark, and this is my associate, the lord of this city and the surrounding regions, lord Orkham. Now then, are you all prepared to die? First though, I shall take the flower maiden."  
        Dark strolled forward, slowly approaching the group. Kiba, preparing for a fight, set Cheza on the ground. Although still in somewhat of a trance, she was awake enough to stand on her own. At that moment, Kiba caught sight of Aibo. The child looked like he was going to wet himself. His gaze was affixed to lord Dark. At this moment, Dark took notice of Aibo and a bout of menacing laughter followed.  
        "Ah, I see the boy is with you," Dark realized and continued laughing. "Well, now I can kill you at last," he said to Aibo. Kiba glared at Dark with a fierce rage burning in those blue spheres of his.  
        "What the hell makes you think that you'll get close enough before I rip out your throat," Kiba was surprised by his protective reaction.  
        "Who said I needed to get close?" Dark reached his left arm outward as if to grab something. A slender metal pole one inch thick, from one of the surrounding buildings, came flying into Dark's open hand. He grasped the pole firmly. The ends were broken and sharp making it look like a spear, and the pole itself was shorter that Dark's forearm. Dark stretched his arm out forward and released his grip on the pole letting it rest in his palm. Then the pole rose into the air and shot forward like a bullet. It was going straight for Aibo's head. Kiba shoved the kid out of the way and the pole pierced straight through his right shoulder. The pole went in and out of the wolf, burying itself into the pavement they stood upon. Blood began pouring out from the wound in Kiba's shoulder. "So then, you wish to prolong your torment? Very well, I am more that willing to oblige you."  
        Lord Dark started to move closer to Kiba and the others when out of nowhere the noble was stuck in his right shoulder and throw aside by a slender beam of golden yellow light. An explosion resulted when the beam collided with a building in its path. Many of the nearby soldiers were hit by the shock wave and killed instantly. The other soldiers were in a state of chaos and confusion without a leader. Orkham had conveniently disappeared, running away from the fight to save his own hide.  
        "Hey look, someone's up there on that building," Toboe pointed out to everyone else. The figure was wearing a large black trench coat that billowed freely in the slight breeze, but he was too well shadowed for any more of his features to be ascertained. Then he vanished. Darcia, however, took advantage of the confusion and dashed toward his airship with unbelievable speed. He easily tossed aside the soldiers that barred his path as though they were rag dolls. Darcia opened a small control panel on the outside of his ship and punched in a sequence of instructions. The ship responded instantly, the engines hummed as they powered up. Then red beams from the ship's weapons arced across the area killing the rest of the soldiers.  
        "Cher, come quickly! We have to go, now!" Darcia called out to her as he opened the ship's outer door and a ramp extended down from the door to the ground. Then Darcia directed his gaze at Kiba. "Wolf, I do not have the time to fight with you, but I will have the flower maiden. She is mine! I created her. Cheza is not vital to you," Darcia reasoned with the white wolf.  
        "No! Cheza is staying with us! She's more important to us than anything," Kiba countered.  
        "Kiba . . ." Aibo spoke softly. "I think . . . that it would be best for Cheza . . . if she went with them . . . for now." He was careful to choose his words wisely  
        "What?!" Kiba glared at the child. Aibo cringed back at Kiba's stare.  
        "It's just that . . . those people will be coming after us again. And Darcia is the only one who can get Cheza away from here quickly. If we let Cheza go with him, it gives her the best chance of staying out of harm's way, that's all," Aibo tried to explain, but nothing was going to deter Kiba.  
        "I can't believe you're even saying that!"  
        "Kiba, it's just a matter of fact. You and the others can't protect her right now as well as Darcia can." Aibo's pleading wasn't having any effect on Kiba. He just grew more and more irate. Aibo finally gave up and dropped his head down shutting his eyes. Kiba turned around to face Cheza and proceeded to take her hand. He stopped when he heard Aibo's voice call out. This time, though, the child's voice was strange. His voice possessed a strange reverberence to it and it was impossible to tell if the voice was male or female.  
        "Kiba! Since you wouldn't listen to the boy, I'll have to take matters into my own hands." Kiba looked back at Aibo and turned to face the child. Aibo raised his face upwards, but his eyes were still shut. Then finally, the boy open them. Aibo's eyes had changed. They were now held same red coloring as Cheza's. Immediately, a bright crimson flash followed. Kiba dropped to his knees and fell forward, unconscious. The red-eyed child caught Kiba around his shoulders. "Cher, take Cheza with you now." The scientist did as she was told, although still somewhat startled by what was going on. Cher took Cheza by the hand and walked the flower maiden over to Darcia's airship. "You three, take Kiba. His weight is too much for this boy's body to support." Tsume scooped up Kiba being careful of the wound in the white wolf's shoulder.  
        "What the hell are you?" the gray wolf demanded while holding Kiba in his arms.  
        "This one is the second personification of the boy. I take over when Aibo's life is in danger or the situation is too much for his childlike mind to cope with." Then the young one marched over to Darcia and stared straight up at the noble. "The boy might be willing to forget your past crimes, but I am not so forgiving!" the expressionless voice declared with his red eyes glaring at Darcia. The noble didn't fear anyone, but this strange child in front of him stirred profound feelings of terror within the deepest recesses of the noble's heart. A red aura glowed from Aibo's eyes, "I would kill you right now, but the child forbids it. So, another recompense must be exacted. You shall be haunted by the same kind of terror that you have inflicted upon this child." Aibo returned to the wolves after this leaving Darcia to board his airship with both Cher and Cheza already aboard. The ship rose into the sky with a loud hum and took off leaving the dome and disappearing from sight in an instant. "We are leaving, too." With that, the group made their way to outer rim of the dome. They soon left the walls of the city and headed out into the snowy wasteland.  
        It didn't take too long for them to find a cave to sleep in for the night. They would wait for the still unconscious Kiba to recover. Kiba awoke a few hours later. Tsume had laid him on the ground near the back of the cave. The white wolf sat up slowly. He remember the wound in his shoulder and checked it. The wound was gone. Aibo must have healed it. Then Kiba remembered what Aibo had done. Aibo had made him give up Cheza to Darcia. Kiba was still furious about this. He wanted an explanation right now. The white wolf looked around the cave for the boy. The other three wolves were sitting in the middle of the cave. Tsume was against one wall while Toboe and Hige sat up against the other wall. Kiba spotted Aibo, all alone away from the others, huddled up near the cave's opening. The child hugged his knees into his chest and stared at the ground. Kiba slowly approached.  
        "You're mad at me," Aibo said without looking up to see who it was as Kiba stood next to him. "I . . . did something bad, didn't I? That's why none of you trust me any more, isn't it?"  
        "You know what you did. Now, why?!" Kiba pressed him for an answer.  
        "Where's . . . Cheza? Where is she?"  
        "What?! You know where she is."  
        "No, . . . I don't. I woke up here. She was gone and you were unconscious. Everyone looked at me strange. I did something bad, I know it," Aibo dropped his head onto his knees for a moment. Then looking back up he whispered, "If you all want me to leave . . . I will." Aibo looked up at Kiba with his sad blue eyes.  
        "Your eyes, they're back to normal," Kiba noted, his anger starting to abate.  
        "Normal?" Aibo questioned.  
        "They turned red like Cheza's just before you did something to me and I blacked out." Aibo's eyes widened.  
        "I guess you all must have met the other one," Aibo alluded.  
        "Other one, what are you talking about?"  
        "He says he's supposed to be my guardian, my protector. He doesn't have a name, though."  
        "Don't you remember what happened?"  
        "I remember arguing with you, and then I woke up here." Kiba let out a sigh. He couldn't be mad at the kid when it didn't seem to be his fault, but who was this 'other one' Aibo referred to?  
        "Has this kind of thing happened before?"  
        "Yeah, he takes over when I can't handle things any more."  
        "Why didn't you tell us about him before?"  
        "I knew you all would be scared . . . of me." Kiba sat next to child.  
        "Toboe's scarier than you." The wolf playfully pushed Aibo.  
        "Huh, how come?" Aibo seemed to be coming out of his gloomy state.  
        "Simple, just because of the pure fact that he's a wolf."  
        "Besides, wolves don't scare that easily. You should know that," Tsume added arms crossed as he leaned his back against the cave wall. The other three had been listening in.  
        "I guess we'll just have to figure out what to do with you, squirt. 'Cause you're stuck with us." Hige tried encouraging the boy.  
        "Anyway, Cheza is safe, right? That's the important thing. If we need to, we'll just find her again like the first time," Toboe happily chimed in.  
        "Thanks, everyone. It's just that . . . I'm afraid of the other one trying to hurt you all. He, already, was able put Kiba out cold. And I know he did something horrible to Darcia," Aibo explained.  
        "What did he do?" Kiba asked.  
        "I'm not exactly sure, but I could feel him . . . attacking Darcia's mind. It sounds weird, I know. But my guardian did something to Darcia's mind. I think as insurance, so that Darcia wouldn't be able to harm Cheza."  
        "That's not all of it. Your guardian also mentioned something about it being revenge. Have any idea what he was talking about?" Tsume offered.  
        "Well, I didn't want to tell you this, but Darcia has been the instrument of your death's in past cycles," Aibo's answer was met by shocked and suspicious glances. "But it's just that he's been forced into that role. I can't really explain all of it yet. However, it is really important that we get Darcia on our side."  
        "Why do we need some stinking noble?" Hige grumbled.  
        "Because it would be different from all the other cycles, and besides he was a friend before the cycles began," Aibo replied.  
        "Speaking of nobles, it looked like you recognized one of them back there," Kiba remembered.  
        "Lord . . . Dark," Aibo gulped. "He's the one responsible for starting the cycles. Dark was there when the cycles began, yet he has never appeared in any of them before now. He was sealed away during the original lifetime. I think that in the last cycle, the place where Cheza released her seeds to reset the cycle was the exact spot where Dark had been imprisoned. The reaction must have accidentally released his seal."  
        "Hey, how was that guy moving things around without touching them?" Toboe inquired.  
        "Dark is telekinetic, and he has a few other powers in store, as well."  
        "Huh?" came a unified response from everyone.  
        "It's the ability to move objects with mere thoughts."  
        Now that they were safe, the wolves and the boy took some time to relax. They were going to have a long journey ahead of them. There was some casual conversation as happens when people get bored from just sitting around.  
        "Hey guys, come here. Look at it, it's beautiful," Toboe called to the others from the cave's entrance. The young wolf was soon joined by his friends. Everyone looked up to where Toboe pointed. There, hanging in the clear night sky, was a bright full moon. Kiba, Tsume, and Aibo immediately knew what this meant. Toboe's granny was dead. "Hey, why do you three look so down?" Toboe noticed the melancholy expression on their faces.  
        "It's nothing. You're right, the moon does look nice," Tsume replied quickly. He had no intention of letting Toboe find out right now. The gray wolf decided to let the pup have his moment. Tsume would tell Toboe when the time was right. After a few moments more, the wolves retreated to the shelter of the deeper parts of the cave. There they all settled in for the night after returning to their wolf forms. Hige and Aibo slept on either side of Kiba while Toboe settled in next to Tsume.  
        Meanwhile back in the city, the present Cher left with Hubb suddenly sprang to life right before the detective's eyes. He had been moping around his apartment all day, after Cher had left. He had checked back at her apartment, but no one was there. He was still turning it over in his mind as to what Cher meant. What flower was he supposed to follow? Finally, frustrated and angry he yelled out, "Where did you go, Cher?!" That's when the device began to activate. It almost seemed to be responding to Hubb's question.  
        The rectangular machine began to make all sorts of humming and buzzing noises as its screen lit up. A blue light emanated from the screen. Hubb picked up the machine. Circular rings pulsed outward from the center of the screen continuously at regular intervals. An arrow appeared in conjunction with a directional ring along the outer rim of the screen. The directional ring consisted of north, east, south, and west indicators and a series of small lines between each indicator. The arrow moved along the ring finally coming to a stop. The whole thing reminded Hubb of a compass with one exception. This compass didn't point to north. He turned around and rotated the device a few times to make sure the direction was consistent. No matter how Hubb moved it, the compass arrow always pointed to the same direction. "So then, Cher. Is this supposed to lead me to you?" he wondered. "Well there's only one way to find out."  
        A few hours later, Hubb was on a train headed south in the direction the compass led him. His coworkers at the station were left in shock. It was so unlike him to do something on the spur of the moment. All Hubb told them was that Cher was missing and he was leaving to go look for her. They tried to convince him to stay a few days and see if she turned up, but Hubb's mind was set. If Cher wanted him to stop living in the past, then he was going to do it starting right now.  
        The train itself was nothing luxurious, but it wasn't decrepit either. Every seat was loaded with passengers. In fact, Hubb had a rather unusual neighbor. A man wearing a brown trench coat and hat, with a large dog possessing blueish-gray fur, sat in the seat next to the detective. It was going to be a long ride and Hubb was rather bored sitting next to the window, so he decided to try some small talk with the man next to him. At least he would have, but as luck would have it Hubb's allergies chose to act up right then and there. He pulled out a handkerchief, and after a few minutes, was able to bring his sneezing under control. The man next to Hubb laughed in a gruff voice, "So what's someone like you doing out here? You don't look like the type that likes to travel or, much less, can handle it outside the city."  
        "I'm looking for someone. What about you?"  
        "Hunting."  
        "Hunting?"  
        "Wolves."  
        "Wolves?" Hubb looked at the man suspiciously.  
        "Yeah, so what's it to you? You're starting to sound like a parrot."  
        "Sorry, by the way I'm Hubb Lebowsky," Hubb extended his hand.  
        "Quent Yaiden," Quent shook Hubb's hand once and let go. The hunter motioned to the dog on the floor next to him, "She's Blue."  
        "Hey, do you think that wolves would be looking for a flower?" Hubb inquired out of the blue. Quent raised a eyebrow.  
        "What makes you say that?" the hunter stared at Hubb.  
        "Nothing, it's just a crazy thought. My ex-wife left me this with a note that said to follow some flower," Hubb showed Quent the compass Cher had left behind.  
        "There's something similar to that in the Book of the Moon," Quent explained placing his hat in his lap and reclining into his seat, "but the real question is whether or not you believe it."  
        "What do you say to us working together for a while? If the wolves you're after are looking for this flower, then maybe . . ."  
        "You're worried about your woman, right?" Quent replied with a smug grin. "And you want to use me to deal with whatever danger she might be in."  
        "You don't have to put it like that," Hubb looked a little sheepish. "Coming with me might also help you find your wolves," he offered, wanting to entice the Hunter's cooperation.  
        "Hmph. I go where my dog's nose leads. But, if you're headed where I'm going . . . then I guess I can let you tag along," Quent relented. Hubb wasn't sure if he believed in wolves, but he did want help just in case Cher really was in trouble. Hubb didn't really know why he had decided to ask Quent for help. There was just something familiar about the old hunter that made the detective sure that Quent was not just blowing hot air about the existence of wolves. The old man dozed off and Hubb fell asleep soon after. It would be a few days before the train reached the next city. The terrain was dangerous to say the least and travel across it was treacherous at best. Trains had to watch their speed while braving to traverse the snow-covered landscape. Even though it took a good deal of time for trains in northern lands to go from one city to another, it was still faster than going on foot.  
        Back at the wolves' cave, Tsume found himself awake. The warmth that had been pressed against his right flank was gone, and he could feel the cold air brushing against his side. The gray wolf raised his head and strained his eyes and ears for any sign of Toboe. Tsume knew that Toboe had to have wondered off somewhere, and the older wolf merely wanted to make sure that he didn't need to go looking for the pup. Tsume finally noticed Toboe sitting, on all four paws, at the cave's opening. The rust colored wolf made a low whimper as he sat there alone while the wind ruffled his fur.  
        "What's your problem this time?" Tsume grumbled his paws making light taping noises as he crept close to Toboe.  
        "Granny . . . I'm worried about her being all alone."  
        "So then, you're gonna wimp out and turn back," Tsume sneered. Secretly, he was hoping this would motivate Toboe, strengthening his resolve. Toboe wanted to prove himself to Tsume, and Tsume was aware of this. The gray wolf was hoping to give the pup a much needed prod in the right direction.  
        "No, it's just that I have this feeling that something terrible has happened." The two wolves were startled by a sleepy yawn coming from behind.  
        "Hey guys, is something wrong?" It was Aibo. Apparently, he had woken up from hearing their conversation. The child sat down wearily between the two wolves pressing into their fur coats in order to stay warm in the frigid wind. One look at Toboe's face, even though he was in his wolf form, told Aibo all he needed to know. The child stroked Toboe's fur sympathetically, "You miss her." Toboe let a low wine escape as a reply.  
        Tsume shifted to his human form and reached inside his jacket. He pulled out an envelope showing it to Toboe. "She wrote this for you. She wanted me to wait until we were out of the city before I gave this to you. Aibo will you read it for him?" Tsume handed the letter to Aibo. He opened the envelope and, after a few moments of looking the letter over, made a discovery.  
        "I don't need to read it for you. Toboe, you should be able to read it for yourself. She didn't use human script. This letter is written in moon script. It's the same language written in the two books I keep with me." Aibo passed the letter to the rust colored wolf who had now changed to his human form. The child yawned again, "I going back to sleep. So tired . . ." With that, Aibo wandered back over to Kiba's side and cuddled up into the wolf's soft snowy fur.  
        "I wonder what it says?" Toboe thought out loud. His eyes moved over the strange markings on the paper and slowly their meaning became clear to the young wolf.  
        The letter read: "My dear Toboe. I'm going to be leaving on a little trip. I won't be coming back to the house. I can't rightly say that I know where I'll be going on this trip. I don't think that our paths will cross again, however, I want you to know that no matter where you go I will always be with you as long as you keep me in your heart. Toboe, I love you and you are the last of my family now. Take care of yourself and be good for your friends. I'll be waiting for you at the end of your journey, in Paradise."  
        "Toboe?" Tsume asked with a hint of concern. Toboe had become eerily still once he finished reading the letter. Tsume had peered over the pup's shoulder and read the letter. The leather clad young man leaned forward to get a better look at the young one's face. Toboe looked almost as though he were in shock. Tsume put a hand on Toboe's back as the pup folded up the letter and stuffed it away into one of his pockets.  
        "Tsume . . . I want to thank you," Toboe's voice sounded different. It sounded weak and somber, lacking his usual cheerfulness and enthusiasm.  
        "For what?" The two wolves turned to face one another.  
        "I saw what you did for Granny back at the house. The door was cracked open and I peaked inside. I just wanted to say thank you, that's all."  
        "Damn it. You were watching?!" Tsume removed his hand from Toboe's back and rested his forehead on it. He shook his head a few time and finally sighed. "Come on, you need to go back to sleep. We can't have you falling behind when we finally set out because you're tired," Tsume persuaded while standing to his feet.  
        "Why . . ." Toboe began.  
        "Huh?" Tsume looked back down at his companion.  
        "Why didn't Granny tell me. I-I only wanted to protect her. She . . . really was sick and . . ." Toboe's voice quivered as he spoke. "She died," Toboe was on the verge of tears. He hugged his knees into his chest and started to sniffle. Tsume rubbed the back of his head with his right hand. He was no good at these sort of things.  
        "You're pathetic," Tsume finally retorted. Toboe looked up at the one he admired with confusion, hurt, sorrow, and anger all in his eyes. "Yeah, you were smart enough to figure it out on your own from the letter. But now you're just gonna keel over and give up? That's why she didn't tell you!"  
        _Why does he always have to be such a jerk?_ Toboe thought getting angrier. Tsume's words were not helping the pup feel any better.  
        "She wanted you to remember her as she was. If you just want to sit there moping, then suit yourself." Tsume stopped for a moment after getting no response. "So, do you think she was a liar?" He questioned Toboe.  
        "Never!" Toboe was really mad at Tsume now.  
        "Then why are you still looking like you're about to cry? She said she would be waiting for you in Paradise, right?" Tsume waited for the pup to respond. Toboe nodded and the anger in his eyes was starting to fade. "Then get you ass back to sleep. We don't need you slowing us down. The sooner we find Paradise, the sooner you get to see your old woman again, all right." Tsume, returning to his wolf form, stormed off back to the spot where he was sleeping earlier. The gray wolf couldn't see it, but Toboe's face broke a slight smile. A few moments later, Tsume could feel a familiar shape pressed into his right side. A small rust colored wolf rested next to him. Toboe's breathing was not normal, however. It was too quick, and then Tsume felt something wet against his fur. He raised his head off of his legs which were stretched out in front of himself and glanced over at the pup. The young wolf was crying, odd as it seemed.  
        "I just . . . she's gone and I miss her," Toboe explained. He didn't want to make Tsume mad. Toboe was expecting another harsh lecture from Tsume, but the gray wolf surprised the pup again. Toboe felt something soft and warm on the back of his neck as a muzzle pressed next to his right cheek. Tsume rested his neck on Toboe's embracing his friend as best as a wolf could. Toboe moved to his left and rested his head on Tsume's stretched out legs while nuzzling against the gray wolf's chest.  
        "It's all right, kid," Tsume comforted Toboe. Before either one knew it they had both fallen asleep.  
        By this time Orkham had returned to his palace. The noble retired to his private chambers to reflect on his remaining options now that Dark was seemingly dead. Orkham sat facing a window in a luxurious armchair next to the roaring fireplace on his left. The Dynasty would not be pleased to hear that he had let one of their own die in an operation that ended in failure. The lord did not have much time to consider his next course of action before being jolted from his thoughts by the last voice he expected to ever hear again.  
        "Well Orkham, I see that you are a truly a coward at heart." The large double doors to Orkham's private chambers exploded open, slamming against the walls, as lord Dark strolled through them. Orkham's head spun to his right and he leapt to his feet once he was sure that it was Dark who stood before him.  
        "You're . . . alive!" Orkham's voice was fearful and relieved at the same time.  
        "How little faith you possess," Dark shook his head. "You think I can be so easily killed by this?" Dark motioned to his right shoulder. It was a bloody mess. The clothing over his injured shoulder was burned off, and it was hard to tell the exact location of the wound. "It always takes a little while after being struck with that weapon," Dark explained. As he spoke the blood on his should evaporated into a black gas. Upon doing this, the gas then immediately absorbed itself into Dark's skin. Once it was all over with, the noble's shoulder had completely regenerated itself, clothing and all, until there were no traces of any injury having ever occurred. Orkham stood there in amazement and if he had not been wearing his mask anyone could have seen just how wide his eyes had become.  
        "Astounding . . ." Orkham gasped in disbelief.  
        "I should kill you right now, Orkham." Dark loomed closer to the frightened noble.  
        "B-b-b-but why?" Orkham whined pleading for his life.  
        "Your incompetence knows no bounds. You let those wolves, Darcia, and the flower maiden all escape without so much as an attempt to stop them. But the worst part is that you have not made any effort to track them. You could have ordered for the wolves and Darcia to be followed while you were running away to save yourself," Dark's voice was as cold and calm as ever as he continued to close the distance between himself and Orkham. "However, you have one saving grace. Your servants are not nearly as inept as their master. Using what data you had already extrapolated, our scientists were able to collaborate and complete the project earlier today. Now you will see first hand the fruits of our labor." Dark turned sideways and motioned to the door stretching out his left arm. There in the doorway stood a figure dressed in a black robe that draped onto the floor and fanned out around the person. The person's face was hidden by a shadow cast from the robe's hood. "Why don't you introduce yourself?" Dark asked the robed figure. The figure pulled back the hood and there stood a person identical to Cheza with only two exceptions. Her hair was much longer falling down to and resting around her shoulders, and the color of her hair and lips was black.  
        "This one, is called Shikyo," she replied staring at both nobles with the same pink and blood red eyes as the flower maiden. Shikyo took notice of a potted flower sitting on the windowsill in Orkham's chambers. She floated over to the small plant. "The wolves and their precious flower," Shikyo paused, tracing her fingers up the plant's healthy stem and along its beautiful petals. As she did this, immediately the flower's colors dulled and it started to wither. Shikyo pulled back her hand leaving behind the crumbling black shriveled remains of a once beautiful flower. Satisfied with the demonstration of her powers, Shikyo turned to face the nobles and continued, ". . . will all die."  
  
Sorry to leave you all at a cliffhanger like that, but I write untill I feel the chapter is done and this is where it screamed at me to stop. Ha, ha. In case any of you are wondering, Shikyo is pronounced 'She-key-oh' just like the English words. It's Japanese for: death. More foreshadowing. Mwa ha ha ha. As for that mystery person who saved everyone, he won't appear until the either the next chapter or the one after that. It depends on how far I get with the next chapter. Just a friendly reminder, please submit a review to tell me if you liked it. If you have any suggestions or comments I welcome them, so long as they aren't flames okay ;-) If you have any question you can't address in the reviews my email is accessible on my profile page for those of you who are registered. 


	5. Evil Horizon

Hi, I know it's been a long time since I updated. I'm sorry, but it's been really difficult to find time to write. I just want to take a moment to thank my faithful repeat reviewers.  
  
Areiko:Thanks for being one of my first repeat reviewers. You didn't review my last chapter so I don't know if you're reading this, but I just wanted to say thanks.   
  
Awrawrawrawrawrawra: I have always liked reading you're reviews. They are always an encouragement and I appreciate the comments on specific aspects of my story. It really helps to me to figure out what I'm doing right or wrong.   
  
Mai Minase: I would like to give you a big thanks. I feel a lot better knowing that you sharp eye is out there. Thanks for finding the mistakes that slip by me and pointing them out in a kind, tactful way.   
  
I also want to say thank you to everyone else who has reviewed this story so far. The reviews really do help give me motivation to keep going. (subtle hint) So, if I get more reviews I'll have more motivation to write, edit, and post the chapters faster, get it? (not so subtle hint) And I do really like hearing from the same people more than once, for those of you who left a review for my earlier chapters. It lets me know if you are still reading this and whether you like it or not. I REALLY do NEED the feedback PLEASE! (gets on knees and begs with puppy eyes) I really do love reading the opinions of people who have read my story.   
  
This chapter is a bit shorter than the others and it is mostly a transition chapter that focuses on the nobles, but it is going reveal a lot of important information for later parts of the story. I honestly did not intend for this chapter to turn out the way it did. The wolves do not appear in this chapter and that is why it is short. Originally they were in the second half of this chapter, but the two parts didn't mesh well. So, I divided them into two chapters. However, the next chapter is longer than this one and focuses only on our favorite wolves to make up for this chapter. By the way, any relationships I imply in this chapter are strictly my fabrications for the sake of my storyline and I have no idea as to whether or not they actually occurred in the series. Enough of me taking up space, onto the chapter.   
  
Episode 05: Evil Horizon  
        It had been two days since the wolves escaped from the city. Orkham's soldiers had been on constant patrol searching the skies for Darcia's airship. Lord Dark had still deemed it a priority to capture the flower maiden. She was the final element needed before the Dynasty could enact their master plan. This plan, however, was something that not even Orkham was privileged with; only Dynasty members were allowed access to this information. Therefore the uneasy alliance continued as Orkham kept a wary eye on Dark's every move. Twice now, Dark had threatened to kill him. The old man was not about to drop his guard around the Dynasty noble. Orkham was starting to think that it might be for the benefit of his own health if he put some distance between himself and Dark. Yet doing so might draw the suspicion of his fearsome ally. This left the old man in a very uncomfortable position. At this moment, Orkham was aboard Dark's airship pondering over these things.  
        The Dynasty noble's personal airship was much larger than anything in Orkham's military. It was doubtful that all of Orkham's airships combined could be a match for this flying behemoth. Dark's airship could easily out gun any other opposing war craft regardless of whether the opponent was based on land, sea, or air. The overall shape of the vessel resembled a sting ray. It was wide in the front with three large protrusions. The center one being the bridge and the protrusions on either side of the bridge were the massive engines that ran all the way to back for propelling the craft through the air. The Ôtail' in the back center of the vessel was a large charging mechanism for the main cannon on the bottom of the airship. The cannon was centered directly under the bridge and, when not in use, retracted into the aircraft's hull, so as to avoid damaging the weapon while in flight. The vessel was covered in a black metallic coloring with glowing dark violet lines in a streamlined pattern.  
        Orkham thought back to the reason why he had joined with the Dynasty in the first place. True they promised him power and a greater area to reign over, but the real reason Orkham joined their ranks was for one thing. Protection. Jagara's actions were becoming more and more militant. It was when her troops began approaching his keep that Orkham began looking for allies to protect him. First, he reached out to Darcia with an enticing offer. Orkham would open his boarders to Darcia and assist in the flower maiden project. All that was required of Darcia in return was that he station a few airships at a specified location. This location that Orkham had graciously opened to Darcia was really where Jagara's soldiers had advanced furthest into the old noble's territory. Positioning Darcia between Jagara and himself, Orkham had a shield he could effectively hide behind. However, Darcia lacked the military strength to repel lady Jagara if she decided to commit to a full out assault making him good for little more than an early warning.  
        Thus, Orkham sought more aid. He found it when his agents brought back word of powerful nobles in the far east with an interest in Darcia's flower maiden project. And the rest gradually developed into the current situation. Orkham was disturbed from his thoughts as a knock came from the door of the room he had been given to stay in. It was one of Dark's servants bringing a summons to the noble. Dark wished to show something to Orkham. Orkham was led through the winding corridors of the ship until finally he reached an area which almost seemed like a laboratory. Dark stood there awaiting Orkham's arrival.  
        "Good, you're here. Well, as you know, you're men have not had much success in locating the flower maiden or the wolves. I have decided to allocate some of the Dynasty's resources to assist in the search. Now let me show you the masterpieces of the hybrid technology." Dark strode over to a large thick metal door with three bar locks arranged in a horizontal fashion. The door looked like it was more for keeping something on the inside rather than keeping people out. Dark pressed several keys on a terminal next to the door. The locks retracted, and the door descended into the floor. "Come this way. Stay close and don't touch anything or else I won't save you," Dark coldly commanded in a tone that relayed a sick sort of pleasure.  
        "What could you possibly have in there that is of interest to me?" Orkham demanded.  
        "Just wait and see," Dark gave a sickening chuckle as he entered the room. Orkham followed shortly afterwards. The room was one large aisle lined with cages. The cages were behind thick glass walls, allowing the visitors to see what was lurking inside.  
        "These are . . . wolves?" Orkham observed in confusion. "What can these possibly be any good for!" Orkham shouted rather irritated at his time being wasted like this.  
        "I think you forget your place," Dark warned. Orkham immediately went ridged and gasped in fear. He gave an apologetic bow not daring to look up. "That's more like it. Now watch as I show you just how useful these seemingly ordinary wolves can be." Orkham rose slowly and stood in front of the window that Dark motioned towards.  
        All of the wolves, four males and a single female, in the room were a pitiful sight. They didn't snarl, growl, or even howl for help. Hope for them was lost completely. It was nothing more than a faded memory. They didn't bother to struggle because escape was an impossibility. The only thing that remained for them was to await the time that they would be used for whatever foul purpose Dark had planned, and pray that they would be killed during the task, finally receiving a release from their captivity.  
        The wolf, whose cage Dark and Orkham were in front of, didn't bother to growl or bare his fangs in defiance at the one who held him captive. Instead he cringed helplessly in the back of the cage whimpering. There was nothing he could do. All of them had fought and resisted in the beginning, but it never helped them escape or stopped the painful experiments they had to endure. Instead, cruel beatings were administered after every act of resistance.  
        Dark opened a keypad in the glass wall and pressed a sequence of commands. Orkham's eyes went wide in utter fear at what he saw next. The wolf in the cage howled writhing and contorting on the floor in pain. Its body was changing, growing, and shifting. The wolf became many times larger than what was natural. Its height eventually rivaled that of a man's. The wolf's legs became longer and more muscular. The pads on the wolf's paws were absorbed back into its body. The paws of the forelegs grew longer mutating into the shape of fingers, but still retaining their canine characteristics. The wolf's claws on all of its paws became much longer, thicker, and wickedly sharp. The wolf finally stood upright on its two hind legs facing lord Dark. The head was still that of a wolf's, but the body now had many human features added. The forelegs and hind legs no longer were of the gracefully slender form of a wolf's legs, but rather resembled human arms and legs. All semblance of a soul and conscious thought were gone from the wolf's golden eyes. The once majestic creature was reduced to this mindless beast, a monster.  
        "Genetic modifications are added to the wolves. These modification include addition of human DNA and enhancement of all desired characteristics. The results are quite startling, as you can see for yourself. However, in order to manage the wolves more easily the modifications are suppressed by the control mechanism. The control mechanism is a device which preserves and sustains the genetic alterations. Once necessary, the control mechanism is activated releasing the suppressed modifications, and this is the result. The control mechanism is implanted in the neck at the base of the skull. It suppresses all conscious thought once activated in order to ensure the beast's complete cooperation," Dark explained. He had seemed to enjoy the suffering of the wolf as it underwent the painful transformation. Dark retained a look of satisfaction even now as the wolf stood there striped of its mind and free will. Orkham was sickened by all of this and grateful that his mask covered all of his face. However, he dared not betray his thoughts to Dark.  
        "It is . . . quite a magnificent technology," Orkham finally croaked.  
        "These five wolves are my special project. I plan to use them to find all our targets. These five are far more enhanced than anything else you have yet seen.  
        "Wait, what about that one who interfered back in the city. You can't possibly be thinking of ignoring that assassin are you?  
        "My assassin? He is merely a nuisance. He follows me, like a shadow, trying to kill me when the opportunity presents itself. He will never succeed, though," Dark laughed confidently.  
        "And what if he intends to join the others?" Dark turned to face Orkham. If Dark's eyes hadn't been covered by his mask his expression would be one of a scoffing look and a raised eyebrow.  
        "He has no intention of joining the wolves or Darcia. All he cares about is revenge for what I have done to his brothers and sister," Dark again broke into a bout of menacing laughter. Then he regained his composure and made an offer, "Now then, I imagine you wish to add this Ômagnificent technology' to your own military. After all, the human version is ready for mass production. When wolf DNA is added to humans the results are equally astounding.  
        "No," Orkham shook his head.  
        "What?" Dark snapped, hostility punctuating his voice.  
        "I mean, no it will not be necessary. I trust that whatever resources the Dynasty deems necessary to send me will be quite sufficient, even if they deem that no resources need be sent. I am confident that the Dynasty's judgment will be more than enough to deal with whatever situations that might arise. I will leave all matters of military engagement in your hands. I must return and tend to the affairs of my keep, if you understand.  
        "But of course," Dark chuckled lightly.  
        "Send word to me if there is anything you need." With that Orkham departed from Dark's presence. The old man was relieved to finally have the chance to get far away from Dark.  
        "The old fool has made things even easier than I had hoped. He has practically turned control of his entire territory over to me," Dark chuckled in self satisfaction. Then he turned his attention to the transformed wolf. "Now it is time to put you to good use." A few hours later Orkham was well on his way back to his keep within his domed city.  
        Aboard another airship, very similar to lord Dark's, lady Jagara had been invited to a meeting: A gladiatorial demonstration between a group of her soldiers and a group presented by her hosts. The airship resided just above Jagara's keep as the lady was escorted by her personal guard. Jagara stood before a pair of large double doors surrounded by her elite vanguard. Her posture was one of absolute confidence as she stood in clad in her armor and cape. Her armor was a brown, platted metal that had a distinctively feminine design to it. Jagara's long blonde hair draped from her helmet around her shoulders. The helmet covered her eyes, nose, ears, and upper face leaving her mouth, chin, and lower cheeks exposed. Jagara was starting to get impatient when finally the doors opened revealing her hosts.  
        Two women stood before Lady Jagara. One clad in snow white, the other in raven black. Both their gowns were of the same style and cut. The dresses had open shoulders with a neckline just below the collarbone, and long sleeves that ended in a point on the back of the hand with a loop that hooked over the middle finger. The gowns were form fitting contouring to the women's bodies without being tight. There were also dual slits, one on either side, running up to just above the knee which caused the gown to flare out at the bottom in a ruffled pattern. Both women wore helmets of feminine design, similar to Jagara's, that covered their eyes, noses, upper cheeks, and ears.  
        "Welcome, Lady Jagara . . ." the one in white spoke.  
        ". . . it is most gracious for you to have come here," the one in black finished. It appeared as if this is how the two lady nobles spoke all the time. Both alternating, yet still communicating a single unified thought almost as if they were joined by the same mind. "I am Lady Umbrora," she addressed Jagara, "and my sister is Lady Aurora.  
        "On behalf of the Dynasty . . ." Aurora began.  
        "We wish to extend our greetings and hope . . ." Umbrora continued  
        "To establish an alliance in friendship between ourselves and you." Aurora concluded. Jagara stepped forward advancing ahead of her guards.  
        "Let's just get down to business," Jagara's patience was wearing thin.  
        "As you are already aware . . ." Umbrora started.  
        "Orkham has acquired increased military strength through an alliance forged with another noble . . ." Aurora added.  
        "The Dynasty knows of your plans and wishes to assist you . . .  
        "Yet for your plans to come to fruition, you must possess the flower maiden . . .  
        "Is this not correct?  
        "Very well, but how does the Dynasty presume to have anything to offer me for this alliance?" Jagara questioned.  
        "We have a technology that is unprecedented in our world," Aurora stated.  
        "The creation of hybrids, a combination of wolf and human, and we have also created a flower maiden of our own," Umbrora explained.  
        "Allow us to introduce you to her," both sisters spoke in perfect unison. From behind the two women came a hooded figure dressed in black. The flower maiden stepped forward to introduce herself removing her hood.  
        "This one, is called Shikyo." She gave a small respectful nod and then took her leave as if she were needed elsewhere.  
        "Interesting . . ." Jagara pondered for a moment and then delivered her decision. "Very well, let's see what you have to show me." The sisters led the lady to a large two story room. The three women were seated, with Jagara between the two sisters, upon the upper level looking down into a circular pit. Then two teams of five soldiers entered the arena. One team consisted of Jagara's troops and the other team was a group of the Dynasty's hybrid soldiers. Jagara's troops were clad in their black armor carrying large shields and spears. The Dynasty's hybrid soldiers possessed no weapons wearing only full body suits with helmets covering the entire head. The hybrid soldiers were also shackled with long heavy chains joining their wrists and ankles together. "Why are your soldier's wearing restraints?" Jagara observed.  
        "For the protection of your own men . . ." Aurora explained  
        "Unless you wish to make this lethal combat," Umbrora offered.  
        "I agreed to this exhibition under that assumption," Jagara stated crossly.  
        "Very well," Umbrora agreed, "Sister, if you would," she addressed Aurora, who seemed to know just what Umbrora wanted her to do. Aurora outstretched her right arm with hand open and fingers fanned outwards. A series of bright flashes followed immediately. The image Jagara beheld astounded her. Arrows of light flew out of Aurora's hand and struck the restraints, that bound her own soldiers, disintegrating them entirely.  
        "I should have exercised a bit more restraint," Aurora chuckled to herself. Jagara simply gasped. She had never seen such a display of sorcery. Though Jagara utilized magics of her own, she had never seen sorcery wielded so casually or with such destructive results from so little force. "Now, let the match begin!" both sisters declared.  
        Jagara's troops raised their weapons and charged the hybrid soldiers. The Dynasty soldiers scattered across the ring. It looked almost as though there was a lack of any coordination between the hybrids. "Is this the best your hybrids can manage, running away?" Jagara taunted. The sisters declined to answer.  
        One of Jagara's soldiers managed to corner a hybrid at the far end of the ring. Jagara's soldier lunged at the hybrid, however, the hybrid caught the spear wielded by Jagara's soldier and snapping the bladed ends off easily. The soldier backed away, frightened, now hearing a growl emanating from the hybrid. The hybrid discarded its helmet revealing the shocking creature beneath. The face was predominately human, but the eyes were far different. Human eyes were not what stared, with a cold piercing glare, at Jagara's soldier. Instead the hybrid possessed the same black and gold eyes of a wolf. The ears were canine, as well, being pointed rather than rounded. The nose and jaw structures retained their original human features, however, glistening ivory fangs were clearly visible as the hybrid curled its lips as it snarled.  
        The soldier backed away in utter horror from staring at the monster before him. With a backhanded swat, the hybrid sent the armor clad soldier flying into the middle of the arena. The loud thud of the body hitting the ground drew the attention of the rest of Jagara's soldiers, distracting them from their own individual scuffles. Then all the soldiers caught sight of the unmasked hybrid. The other hybrids in the arena now follow suit removing their helmets to expose their terrifying visages. Jagara's soldiers were quickly herded into a group with their backs pressed against one another as the five hybrids circled them. The scene no longer looked like match between two groups of soldiers. Rather now, it was akin to a pack of wolves stalking their prey just before the kill.  
        Jagara squirmed in her chair as she listened the sounds of metal cracking, bending, and shattering mixed together with the screams of her soldiers and triumphant howls of the hybrids. The lady became fixated on the carnage of the slaughter before her. She was unable to remove her eyes from the sight of the hybrids sinking their fangs into flesh. Even as lady Jagara became nauseous from watching her men being literally torn into pieces, a fascination grew within her. A craving for the power she beheld.  
        "Spectacular . . ." Jagara gasped. This elicited a satisfied smirk from the sisters.  
        "These are the final test stage human-type hybrids for our mass production variation of the technology," Aurora explained.  
        "The mass production technology has been perfected at last, and with it an entire army could be converted into hybrids within a mere matter of days," Umbrora continued.  
        "So, what is your decision?" both sisters asked Jagara.  
        "What do you mean?" Jagara was slightly confused, still reeling from the demonstration. Her soldiers were nothing to be laughed at, and the thought that they could be dispatched so easily by these foreigners had her head spinning.  
        "We are offering this to you as a gesture of goodwill," Aurora answered.  
        "With this, your army would be unstoppable, and Orkham would fall before your might," Umbrora paused then continued her enticement. "And that which you desire would be within your grasp . . ." The sisters let that notion hang, ringing in the air, for a few moments before continuing their slick persuasion.  
        "Is it not true that you yearn for the affections of a certain . . . noble?  
        "Yet, he shuns you in favor of another . . . Another that is far inferior to yourself!  
        "That weak, sickly woman has no right to lay claim to his heart. He should belong to you and you alone! Do you not agree?" Aurora and Umbrora's words slid like oil into Jagara's ears. The Dynasty sisters spoke everything Jagara wanted to hear.  
        "Darcia," Jagara breathed in a barely audible sigh. She paid little attention to the fact that these two women seemed to know a great deal about her. The lady merely brushed it off as common knowledge amongst those who kept up with the affairs of nobles. It was no secret that Jagara had competed for his affections, but that was two hundred years ago.  
        "Perhaps you desire a closer look at the hybrids?" Aurora offered after receiving no reply from Jagara for some time. Aurora pointed to the hybrids below and curled her index finger several times. Their obedient response was immediate. All five jumped up onto the second level landing in front of the lady nobles with a loud boom on the metallic floor. This stirred Jagara from her thoughts.  
        "No, no that is sufficient. How soon will you be able to convert my entire military?  
        "It will be a difficult task. Each hybrid must be implanted with a control mechanism to stabilize the genetic modifications. Additionally, the control mechanism suppresses all conscious thought ensuring total obedience. This prevents the hybrids from turning on their masters. We would be more than willing to assist with this, as well.  
        "Very well, then I shall leave the details to the both of you.  
        "Does this mean we have an alliance?" Umbrora reminded Jagara. She nodded and then took her leave of the two sisters.  
        "All proceeds according to plan," Aurora turned to her sister once Jagara was gone.  
        "Indeed," Umbrora answered, both dawning sinister half-smiles.   
  
I know that this chapter was on the nobles only, but I promise that the next chapter is only on the wolves as a make up, plus the next chapter is longer than this one. I already have it written, but I need at least three reviews for this chapter before I post the next one. Oh, as a little preview I have several really cute innocent fluff scenes in the next chapter. I hope that sparks you interest enough to click that button at the bottom and leave a review please. Remember, I'm looking for at least three new reviews and thank you in advance. 


	6. Bonds

Sorry, I took a little while longer than what I had expected in getting this chapter up. I still had a few rough spots in the story that I wanted to smooth out and polish. By the way, this story is non yaoi, plain and simple. Well, this is my first attempt at fluff, so please be kind. Honestly, it is nothing more than friendship in this chapter so don't read too far into it. I'd like to take a moment to thank those of you who reviewed my last chapter. First off, I want to thank my long time reviewers. The two who have been with me since the beginning.  
  
**Awrawrawrawrawrawra**: Thank you so much. You're review made me feel so special. I really enjoyed reading your review. I'm particularly glad that you liked the hint of a relationship between Jagara and Darcia. I had wondered if anyone would notice. By the way, did I really make a your/you're mistake? Oww, I could kick myself for that. I also noticed the discrepancy you pointed out. Don't worry it is sort of a delayed explanation. Darcia doesn't have a military in this story either, but it will make sense in the next chapter. It is a surpirse. Hee hee hee. Anyway, thank you so much for reviewing.  
  
**Mai Hayami** (Formerly Mai Minase): Thank you for reviewing and sticking with me all this time. And as always, thanks for keeping a eye out for any errors that I might have missed.  
  
I also want to thank two new reviewers **Nikki** and **Water Knight Umi**. Thanks for reviewing and I hope to hear more from you in the future.  
  
All reviews are most gratefully appreciated. So please drop one off before leaving and thank you so much. Now on to the chapter.  
  
Episode 06: Bonds  
  
Far away from any humans and their cities, the wolves found time to enjoy a brief respite. The pack had finally come upon a forest after leaving the frigid wasteland and traveling through mostly barren mountains.  
  
Kiba, despite the grumblings of a certain gray wolf, made sure the pack kept their speed to a slow gait. Hige, Tsume, and Toboe could have easily handled a much faster pace, but the white wolf didn't think it wise to push the pack's youngest member. None of the wolves were really certain as to how much Aibo could handle before his body reached its limits and gave out. Besides this, Kiba knew that if the boy passed out someone would have to carry him. For the time being, though, Aibo seemed to be doing fine and occasionally insisted that he could go faster.  
  
At present, the pack was resting in the shade beneath a cluster of trees. Using their human forms had not been necessary in the wilderness, so for the past two days the wolves remained as such, in their natural forms. Tsume had sprawled out on some moss at the base of a large pine tree. Toboe wandered from plant to plant taking in all the new smells of the forest and Hige lazily stretched out his legs while basking in a patch of sunlight leaking through the overhead canopy of leaves. Kiba had withdrawn away from the group a small distance to clear his head and simply unwind. The refreshing smell of a crisp breeze gently caressed his noise as he listened to the peaceful silence of the woods.  
  
"Um, hey Kiba," Aibo perked up, sitting in the soft grass not to far from their leader.  
  
"What?" he replied in his usual calm manner while resting on his haunches.  
  
"Well, I was wondering . . . Uh, do you remember when you said you would teach me how to hunt?" the boy gave Kiba an irresistibly cute look with pleading eyes.  
  
"Why do you wear your hair like that? It makes you look weird," Kiba wanted to change the subject by calling attention to the way Aibo covered the upper right side of his face with his long bangs. It almost seemed like he was trying to hide his appearance.  
  
Kiba had not really agreed to anything, but the boy would be disappointed if they did not go through with the hunting lesson. Kiba was also reluctant to call attention to the fact that Aibo wouldn't be able to hunt like a wolf. Aibo's body was like that of a human's, and even though he might be able to borrow the abilities of a wolf, it still did not change the fact that the child had the limitations of a human.  
  
"What does that have to do with anything? Besides, it's not like I can cut it whenever I want," came Aibo's response, seemingly a little too well rehearsed. Kiba finally gave into himself because it looked like Aibo wasn't going to give up that easily. The wolf fell back on the one piece of reasoning he had tried to stay away from using.  
  
"You do know that you're not built for hunting, right?"  
  
"But . . . you said you would," Aibo pouted, his voice shaking. His eyes started to water while his hair parted letting Kiba look into both blue spheres at once. A feeling of pain lurched at Kiba in his gut. Why did the prospect of letting Aibo down bother Kiba so much? It just didn't make sense to the white wolf.  
  
_Why do I even care?_ Kiba though to himself feeling rather perplexed. But as he continued to look at Aibo, now on the verge of tears, something in Kiba's heart felt for the child. It was like some kind of new instinct that was totally foreign to anything the wolf had felt before. Kiba's gaze softened. "All right", he sighed, "if it means that much to you I suppose . . ." Kiba was cut off by Aibo's tight embrace. The child had thrown his arms around the white wolf's neck.  
  
"Oh, thank you!" Aibo squealed as he nuzzled into the fur on Kiba's neck. The pair noticed a hearty chuckle coming from one of their pack mates.  
  
"Maybe I should take the runt and find something to eat. Otherwise, we'll starve if we gotta rely on what you two bring back." Hige's sense of humor was just a wry as ever. However, it was a practical notion that saved Kiba the trouble of persuading someone to do the hunting. Kiba was a proficient hunter in his own right, and Hige knew first hand how capable the white wolf was. Yet, now that Kiba had to bring along a total novice, there wasn't much chance he would have a kill to bring back.  
  
"Hey, Tsume! Why don't come along, too?" Toboe asked cheerfully as he bounded over to the gray wolf. Tsume gave a curt reply emphasizing the last three words.  
  
"I'm not moving from this spot!" His eyes remained closed while he rested his head on his paws. Toboe gave a small pout, yet declined from pursuing the issue further. There was nothing the russet wolf could do about his friend's stubborn streak . . . for right now anyway. Toboe would get even later if he felt like it.  
  
"I guess we'll see you guys later. Let's meet back here," Hige waved to the others as he and Toboe left. The two wolves soon disappeared among the growth of the forest. Kiba took Aibo with him and soon they were out of sight leaving the gray wolf all by himself.  
  
_Finally, didn't think I'd ever get some time to myself._ Tsume let out a sleepy yawn. He tried napping for a while, but sleep evaded him. The gray wolf couldn't quite put his finger--well paw--on what was bothering him, but there was a tight feeling in his upper chest that, at first, he took for apprehension. _No that's not it_, he decided after mulling over the sensation for some time. What Tsume was feeling was somewhat different from being apprehensive. The emotion wasn't fear. Instead, it was more like an emptiness . . . a longing. Tsume snapped upright from shock at that realization. _What the hell?! This is stupid._ But the feeling still wouldn't leave him. _Damn, maybe I'll just check on how they're doing._ Tsume finally lumbered to his paws and set off to find his pack mates. Of course, he wasn't going to let any of them know he went looking for them. The gray wolf planned to stay hidden the whole time.  
  
Meanwhile, Kiba crept through the forest silently along a carpet of grass, leaves, and twigs all the while in search of prey. The pads on his paws absorbed the weight of his strides allowing him to move with ghostly stealth. His hunting companion, however, was nowhere near as quiet as the wolf. Kiba was also much faster than Aibo, and a considerable distance had grown between them. Kiba glanced back at the boy who was stumbling along clumsily, making a racket with every step he took, crunching the leaves and twigs. With all that noise, any animal Kiba hoped to stalk would hear them coming from yards away. This wasn't working he decided. Kiba trotted back to Aibo causing the child to come to a sudden dead halt.  
  
"First lesson, you have to be quiet!" Kiba almost barked.  
  
"I"m sorry," Aibo apologized dropping his gaze to the ground.  
  
"All right look, you can't make so much noise when you walk. Feel the ground beneath your feet," Kiba gave a small demonstration and took a few silent steps to illustrate what he meant. The white wolf moved slowly to show Aibo how he could adjust his foot to the contours of the ground. Aibo tilted his head to the side in confusion for a moment. Then a look of realization dawned on him.  
  
"How's this?" He promptly kicked off both of his shoes and stripped off his socks stuffing them inside the shoes. Aibo tied the shoes' laces together and hung them around his neck on the inside of his jacket. He didn't want to lose his only pair of shoes, after all.  
  
Aibo practiced walking the way Kiba showed him. The child's steps were not nearly as noisy as before, yet still, in comparison they were nowhere near a silent as the white wolf's experienced strides. However, encouraged by the boy's willingness to learn, Kiba decided to offer a few more pointers.  
  
"Don't put your full weight into each step. Tread lightly by dispersing you weight to both your feet. Wait until your foot is at least touching the ground before leaning on it. And watch where you are going. You won't have to worry so much about the weight you put on each foot if you can avoid stepping on things that make noise," Kiba snapped a small branch by stepping on it with a forepaw to make sure Aibo clearly understood.  
  
Others in this scenario might have seen Kiba's pointers as criticism, but Aibo was just happy to be able to spend time with the white wolf. And the child was especially grateful for the fact that Kiba had willing chosen to spend this time with him. Kiba resumed his trot through the woods after motioning for Aibo to follow.  
  
"I want you to keep up with me," he ordered. Aibo wasn't going to object to the wolf's command, and so he ran, fast as he could, along side the wolf.  
  
Kiba gradually resumed his earlier pace, running at full out top speed. He failed to notice how hard Aibo struggled to keep up, and gradually the child started to fall behind. Aibo would be damned, though, before he'd ask Kiba to slow down.  
  
It was the smell of blood that finally made Kiba noticed the labored breathing coming from behind him. The sound was rather faint, and Kiba found out why. Aibo had fallen farther behind than before. The wolf would have run back to the child, but he saw something that made him decide to wait for Aibo to catch up. Kiba noticed the determination burning in the boy's eyes. It was a feeling the wolf, himself, was all too familiar with. When Aibo, at last, reached Kiba he fell to his hands and knees panting.  
  
"Are you all right?" the wolf asked. Kiba was a bit concerned that the child might pass out.  
  
"I'm . . . fine," Aibo managed to choke out the words between desperate gasps for air. He might be able to run faster than a human from being around wolves, but there was no way Aibo could match the speed of a grown wolf.  
  
"You're lying," Kiba countered.  
  
"No, I'm not!" Aibo insisted. He had finally managed to slow his breathing, but still felt sharp pangs throughout his body.  
  
"I can smell your blood. That scent's hard to miss, you know." The white wolf shifted to his human form at this. "Let me check you over." Kiba lifted Aibo from the boy's underarms and set the child down in a sitting position. Aibo would have protested, however, he was far too weak to put up any resistance. His little stunt had taken it's toll on his body, and now he was paying the price.  
  
It didn't take long for Kiba to find the source of the blood scent. Aibo's feet were stained red and Kiba noticed red foot prints on the ground leading to their spot. "You should have said something if you were having trouble. What were you thinking?" Kiba scolded the child.  
  
"I'm sorry . . ." Aibo's voice trailed off. He looked away trying to hide the look of utter defeat on his face.  
  
Aibo fought back his emotions hard, but still thought he was about to cry when something startled him. A warm, wet, and very pleasant sensation eased the pain in his right foot. He looked back to see Kiba, in wolf form, tenderly attending to the cuts in his foot. The wolf's tongue softly caressed the child's foot from bottom to top again and again until the wounds stopped bleeding. After a few moments, Kiba moved to the left foot cleaning it with the same gentle attention as he had given to the other.  
  
"How does it feel now?" Kiba asked while returning to his human form after he had finished cleaning the boy's feet.  
  
"It still stings a little, but it feels a lot better," Aibo replied gratefully also feeling a bit shy. Kiba knelt down in front of Aibo with his back to the boy scooping his hands under the child's knees.  
  
"Grab on," the wolf instructed. Aibo placed his arms around Kiba's neck and held on to the wolf's chest and shoulders, all the while being careful not to choke the wolf. In one graceful fluid motion, Kiba hefted the child up carrying the boy piggyback style. "Let's find a stream to wash your feet in. I think I smell water this way," Kiba explained as he started off in the direction where his nose guided him.  
  
Their walk to find water was a peaceful and pleasant one. Aibo wasn't too heavy for Kiba to carry easily, and the child kept up an endless barrage of questions for Kiba to answer. Mainly, they were just about little things the two saw like what kind of bird or plant was this or that. Aibo even got a few first time experience stories out of the white wolf and one such story, Kiba's first hunt, quickly became the child's favorite which he was going to want to hear over and over.  
  
Shortly thereafter, the two found a stream, and Kiba set Aibo on the bank allowing the child to submerge both feet into the cool clear flowing water. The chill of the stream's waters numbed away the last stinging traces of pain from the child's feet. Though, as Aibo thought it over, he much rather preferred the warm comforting feeling of Kiba's tongue.  
  
"Hey can I, uh . . . show you something?" Aibo asked as he sat by the water.  
  
"What?" Kiba replied tilting his head to the side while kneeling, on one knee, beside the child.  
  
"I can't explain it very well. So, is it okay if I show you?"  
  
"Why are you asking if it's okay? Just do it," Kiba was a bit confused.  
  
"Because it would be stealing if I didn't ask first." Kiba raised a suspicious eyebrow at this. "Can I see you hand for a minute?" Aibo held out his hand, palm upwards. Kiba placed his hand on top of Aibo's, and the boy grasped the wolf's hand firmly. Next, Aibo closed his eyes like he was trying to concentrate on something. It was then that, a wave of fatigue washed over Kiba's body. The wolf wasn't feeling sleepy. The sensation was closer to being winded after physical exertion, however, the feeling was only minute at best. Kiba's breathing had quickened a little by the time Aibo released his hand.  
  
"What did you do?" Aibo pulled his feet out of the water to answer Kiba's question. The wolf looked over at them discovering that their wounds were nowhere to be found.  
  
"The best I know how to put it is that I can borrow your strength for different things."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I want to know, and I'd like to know a bit about you." Aibo couldn't help but smile at these words, and the fact that the wolf had decided to show an interest in him. It made Aibo feel like he was worth the time to Kiba.  
  
"Really! Well, all right. Do you remember how I told you that Companions can assume the physical form of a wolf? There are two ways to do this. The first comes by living in a pack their entire lifetime, but even then it's not a sure thing. The other way is to use the ability I just used on you. A Companion may borrow from a wolf in order to transform. The first time is always the most difficult, and they have to borrow the most. However during repeat attempts, they can borrow less and less until they become able to transform on their own."  
  
"Hmm, so are all Companions able to use their abilities at your age?" Aibo tensed up at this. Kiba had meant it to be a harmless enough question, but apparently he had struck a nerve. The child was reluctant to answer.  
  
"Uh, I am um different . . ." Aibo was having a hard time piecing together an answer. The pair were suddenly startled from their time together by the sound of pounding hooves. Then they noticed the distressed voice of their friend, Hige.  
  
"TOBOE! Put a move on it runt or it'll get away!" the tan wolf, sounding very annoyed, shouted in a huff as he pursued his prey. Finally, the animal the two wolves were chasing came into view for the pair by the stream. It was a large buck with huge antlers. Immediately following the buck, Hige and Toboe exploded from the tree line. There was a large gash in one of the buck's back legs that slowed it down considerably.  
  
"Hey Kiba! We found dinner!" Toboe shouted giddy with excitement from the chase.  
  
Kiba positioned himself right in front of the charging animal, poised to strike. The buck lowered its antlers making the situation far more dangerous. If the white wolf wasn't careful he could find himself impaled on those ivory white spikes. The buck drew closer gaining speed. The situation wasn't looking good for Kiba. Then a loud snarl caught everyone's attention as a large blur of gray collided with the buck's neck. The animal collapsed on its side from the force of the impact.  
  
There was Tsume with a death grip on the animal's neck. His fangs sunk deep into the buck's flesh clamping its windpipe shut. Soon the prey stopped struggling and lay motionless on the ground. Tsume released his grip, pulling his blood soaked fangs out of the carcass. Everyone just stared. They weren't sure if what they were seeing was real.  
  
"What?" the gray wolf snapped at the rest of the group. He paced off to the stream to wash out his bloody muzzle.  
  
"Well what I'd tell ya. The runt and I did find something to eat!" Hige took a moment to boast over their successful hunt. "Of course if it hadn't been for me injuring it, the runt would have let it get away," Hige chuckled. Toboe, who looked really upset, opened him mouth about to say something, but was cut off by Tsume's voice.  
  
"You liar," Tsume sneered over shoulder still facing the river. "Toboe wounded it, you didn't. I saw the whole thing, you know." The gray wolf, finished with the stream, rejoined the group.  
  
"Hey, lighten up. I was just kidding. Sheesh, you don't have bite my head off!" Hige defended. Then something clicked inside the tan wolf's head. "What were you doing watching us anyway? I thought you weren't gonna move."  
  
"Hmph," Tsume grunted looking away uncomfortably. Hige had him, and they both knew it. Hige smirked and gave an evil chuckle.  
  
"What's the matter? Did Tsume get scared and lonely all by himself?" the tan wolf teased, knowing full well that he had just crossed the line. However, Hige didn't care at this point. He knew Tsume was backed into a corner and wanted to give the gray wolf's nerves a good grinding. Tsume's response was typical and immediate.  
  
"What did you just say?" he growled bearing his fangs.  
  
"You heard me." Tsume was surprised by Hige's gual, at first. Usually, the tan wolf would have backed down by now. It didn't matter much to Tsume, at the moment. He really wanted to tear into Hige. Tsume was ready to lung at Hige's throat, but his attention was unexpectedly diverted.  
  
"Tsume, stop please! That's enough," Toboe pleaded with his idol, jumping between the other two wolves.  
  
"Get out of my way!" Tsume's growl intensified.  
  
It was unfair for the pup to be forced into making this kind of decision. Would he fight or help Tsume? True, Hige was mean to Toboe once in a while, but the tan wolf never did anything harsh or cruel. The russet wolf didn't want to see either of his friends hurt. Toboe cringed back lowering his ears, closing his eyes, and letting out a low whine. His loyalties being torn was just too much for him to process.  
  
"Hige. Tsume. Calm down, now," Kiba ordered in his usual soft spoken manner.  
  
"Yeah, whatever," Hige stormed off forgetting about the food. Tsume's growl fell to a low rumble in his chest. Tsume finally gave up his posturing and began ferociously digging into the forgotten carcass.  
  
"Thanks Kiba," Toboe sighed. Then he whispered, "At least Tsume's taking out his frustration on that, instead of Hige." Kiba, opting not to reply, merely joined Tsume in feeding on the carcass. Toboe didn't wait too much longer before deciding get his share, as well. The buck they had brought down was more than large enough for everyone to get their fill. However, Hige waited for Tsume to leave before eating. Toboe finished eating quickly after Tsume had left and then went to follow him.  
  
Now that things had finally settled down, Aibo crept beside the two remaining wolves. He was hungry, but also a little squeamish at the sight of the animal's remains. The child sat there for a few moments pondering what to do.  
  
"Here," Kiba said, unexpectedly dropping a piece of meat in front of Aibo. The white wolf had been halfway amused when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Aibo's confusion.  
  
"Thanks," Aibo replied timidly, scarfing down the hunk of raw meat. He hadn't been sure how to tear off the meat and didn't think anyone was going to help him.  
  
"You sure baby him a lot." Hige was starting to recover his spunky attitude. Kiba didn't bother justifying Hige's tease with an answer. "Sorry, hey come on," Hige chuckled, "look I get it, okay. He's just a little kid. Geeze, even I know that." When Kiba still didn't respond, Hige started to sulk, "Man, how come none of you guys can lighten up?"  
  
"Aibo's just not suited for this, it's nothing more than that," Kiba's reply was a little cold. However, it was Aibo, not Hige, that found those words to have an icy touch. Aibo closed his eyes and let out a large sigh. "What?" The child opened his eyes again and answered the wolf's inquiry, trying to hide the crestfallen look on his face.  
  
"Nothing . . . not that you care," Aibo muttered the last four words under his breath, "I'm going to go find Tsume and Toboe." Aibo stood up and walked away with his head hung low.  
  
"Damn, talk about insensitive." Hige sounded upset. Kiba finally gave Hige a response by looking over at the tan wolf. "I mean you, Kiba. That was harsh, even for you." The white wolf remained expressionless. "First, you act nice to him, and then you go and say something like that?" Hige wasn't going to waste anymore time explaining the situation to Kiba. The tan wolf sprinted off after Aibo determined to cheer up the kid. Kiba sank deep into thought after he had been left all alone.  
  
_What the hell just happened? Maybe . . . I was too cold. Ugh, I don't know. It's not like Aibo is important to me . . ._ Kiba twitched at that last thought. He didn't like the way it sounded. This strange impulse really confused him. Why would he hate that idea so much and on an instinctive level? This -- like so many other feelings that child brought up in the white wolf's head -- just didn't make sense.  
  
Kiba thought long and hard--How, exactly, did he feel about Aibo? After no success, the white wolf decided to change perspectives--How did Aibo feel about him? The conclusion Kiba came to startled him. He thought back over everything that everyone had been through to this point. Kiba realized that no matter what the situation the child was never far from his side. It was an odd realization, but Kiba understood that he couldn't treat that child with the same indifference he applied to the rest of the pack.  
  
"Aibo needs me," Kiba repeated, aloud, the conclusion that had startled him. "I better go find him," he decided. The wolf raised his nose to the air while his swift feet followed the child's flowery, wolfish, and human scent.  
  
Meanwhile, Toboe had been following Tsume in an awkward silence; both walking in their human forms. He remained a few respectful steps behind the gray wolf. In all honesty though, Toboe wanted to be right along side Tsume, as an equal -- a friend. The pup just couldn't see why his elder saw him as inferior. Why was he not worth the time of day to Tsume? It really hurt Toboe. All he wanted was to be Tsume's friend. The russet wolf didn't expect anything in return, but so far the only notions Toboe received were that what he had to give was not worthy of the gray wolf. Sure, Tsume made a display compassion and affection on a few instances, but still he always kept Toboe at an arm's length. This wasn't enough for Toboe, though. He didn't want Tsume's pity. Being coddled when something was wrong and then pushed away once everything was 'fine', it really pissed Toboe off. The pup was determined to break through that damnable shell Tsume created around himself.  
  
Toboe was correct in a few of his assumption, but he did not have all the facts straight. Tsume wanted a relationship with the pup, but there was a feeling of dread in the back of his mind. He had always known that if Toboe stayed around it would only put the pup in danger. Tsume's fears had been confirmed that day Aibo showed them memories of their past lifetime. Tsume wouldn't be able to forgive himself if Toboe was ever hurt or killed. The possibility that Toboe had suffered and died in their last lifetime because of him, killed Tsume on the inside.  
  
"You were pretty good on that hunt," Tsume suddenly broke the air of silence.  
  
"You . . . really think so?" Toboe sounded hopeful. Could he have been wrong about Tsume's feelings? It was still a little too early to tell the russet wolf decided.  
  
"Yeah, you still need some work, but who knows? It might not be too much longer before you can think about keeping up with me." There it was again, that macho arrogance. Toboe stopped walking. He wasn't going to let it slide unnoticed this time.  
  
"You don't have to humor me. I know you think I'm inferior, that I'm not worthy of being around you or the others. You think I'm just a nuisance, don't you?" Toboe glumly stated.  
  
"What the hell brought this on?" Tsume asked somewhat in shock as he stopped dead in his tracks. This was a real character change from Toboe's typical --and typically annoying-- bright and happy mood.  
  
"Just admit it already. You don't even like me, and you think that everyone would just be better off without me." Toboe could never get Tsume to admit to liking him, so the pup wanted to see if Tsume would admit to hating him. At least it would be progress no matter what answer Tsume gave. However, Toboe prayed that Tsume would deny this just the same as any other attempt at probing his feelings. At least then, Toboe would have a range in which to guess where Tsume's opinion of him lay.  
  
"Yeah, you're probably right." So far, this wasn't working out as the pup had hoped. "The others might be better off without you," Tsume let his words hang in the air for a moment. "But you wouldn't be any better off. And then again, the others might not be any better off if you weren't there."  
  
"But what about you? You still think that you would be better off without me," Toboe's voice was laced with resentment. An uncomfortably long moment of silence passed between the two wolves before Tsume hesitantly answered.  
  
"Actually . . . it's the other way around." Tsume decided it was time to stop running from the issue. The gray wolf took a seat on the grass.  
  
"Tsume?" Toboe asked concerned sitting next to the gray wolf.  
  
"You would be better off without me," Tsume put it bluntly. He breathed a long sigh and stared up into the sky. "You remember those memories Aibo showed us?" Tsume paused, hesitant to continue. He swallowed hard, "How did you die, Toboe?"  
  
Toboe gasped at Tsume's question. This was certainly unexpected. Why would Tsume bring something like that up, and why now of all times? What did it really matter, anyway? They were both alive and together right here, right now.  
  
"Why? I mean, what does it really matter? We're alive right now, aren't we?" the pup was trying to get at what Tsume was feeling.  
  
"It's just something I need to know," Tsume explained as he lowered his gaze to the ground. Toboe saw how serious Tsume's face was and decided to answer the question without any further delay.  
  
"I didn't get to see everything about it. I kind of think Aibo had something to do with that, but I do remember . . . terrible pain. I think . . . I think I was shot. I don't know by who though. I was . . . protecting someone, a human," Toboe stopped, looking at Tsume's unchanged expression before continuing. "It didn't hurt for very long, Tsume," he tried to cheer up the gray wolf.  
  
"Were any of the others--no, was I there?" With those words, Toboe understood now. Tsume was cold . . . because he cared. Toboe realized Tsume felt guilty about not saving him.  
  
"I don't remember, but it doesn't matter. I know what I was thinking then. I had wondered if what I was doing was worth it. Then I remembered that it was what you would have done. That made it all worth it." Toboe felt two strong arms embrace him. He leaned back as Tsume hugged him.  
  
Together they both sat on the ground, Tsume's arms wrapped around Toboe, and Toboe leaning back into Tsume's chest. This is what the pup and the gray wolf had wanted. A friend that they could feel comfortable with. Someone that would see them as they were on the inside and not reject or hurt them. Toboe was too young to even know about some of the more carnal things others in his position would have thought about, and Tsume didn't want to bring that kind of stuff into their relationship. If Tsume wanted a lover, he could find one easy enough. But his friendship with Toboe was something pure and innocent, and he wanted to protect it--to keep it that way.  
  
In this moment they both could feel an almost surreal connection to their past lifetime. It was the bond they shared then and now that allowed this connection. They felt as though they had known each other for the longest of times and had been through a lot together. It was like they were picking up their relationship from the last lifetime right where they had left off. They could feel their past experience flooding back to them. Yet at the same time those memories and experience were still vague, intangible. It was more like the pair could sense that they were there, but could not pin them down with words or even remember them clearly. But still Tsume and Toboe knew they were there.  
  
"Toboe, I'm so sorry . . . I wasn't there to save you. I . . . really did want to take you to paradise," Tsume solemnly apologized, pulling Toboe in closer as though he were afraid the pup might slip away from existence forever. Toboe reached up his braceleted arm and held Tsume's wrist reassuringly.  
  
"Tsume, it's all right. We're here now, together. And we have another chance. Let's find paradise and not blow it this time!" Toboe laughed. With those words both knew that all was forgiven. The weight that had been sitting inside Tsume was finally lifted at this resolution to their past life.  
  
"Oh yeah?" Tsume smirked. In the next instant he had Toboe in a head lock. The pup squirmed and wiggled to get out in an ultimately futile effort.  
  
"Ow, hey come on! Let go!" Toboe whined trying to force himself not to giggle. He could hear Tsume laugh, as well.  
  
"Uh, are we interrupting?" came a cocky chortle. Hige, in his human form, and Aibo had found the two wolves roughhousing.  
  
"Nah, just looks to me like the kind of quarrel you see between best friends or brothers," Aibo reflected. Tsume let go of the russet wolf and shot a combination scowl and growl at Hige. Toboe straightened out his hair.  
  
"Hige are you, um, still mad about before?" Toboe asked concerned for his friendship with the tan wolf.  
  
"You worry too much, runt. Of course, I'm not mad at you. Like I said before I was going to tell everyone what really happened, but a certain creep beat me to the punch." Hige shot a glare in Tsume's direction.  
  
"Not a bad idea," Tsume mused, punching his fist into the open palm of his other hand.  
  
"Come on guys. Don't start that again, please," Toboe pleaded tugging on Tsume's arm.  
  
"Ahhh," Hige sighed, "the runt's right. We can fight later. C'mon lets go find our obsessive-compulsive leader."  
  
"Obsessive-compulsive, huh?" Kiba's voice caught everyone off guard. Hige whirled around to face the brown haired blue eyed boy standing there with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"K-K-K-Kiba!" Hige stuttered. Then he put on a huge grin to hide his obvious fright.  
  
"Let's go. I can smell the scent of lunar flowers coming from that way." Kiba pointed in the desired direction. The other three wolves started off in the direction Kiba pointed to, but Hige stopped and turned around when he noticed Kiba wasn't following. The tan wolf saw Kiba kneeling in front of Aibo. Hige smiled to himself and then continued onward.  
  
"What are you doing?" Aibo asked confused as he found himself lifted onto Kiba's back again like before during their hunting lesson.  
  
"Your feet are still sore, aren't they?" Kiba replied as he carried Aibo piggyback.  
  
"I thought you didn't care."  
  
"I don't know. What I'm feeling . . . it's all new to me," Kiba explained. "I've never taken care of someone before. I've always been on my own. It was just easier that way. But . . . I just don't know." Kiba sighed after this. It was the best he could muster in the way of an apology. Aibo rested his head on the back of Kiba's neck and sighed contentedly before nodding off into sleep. It was the child's way of letting Kiba know his apology was accepted. The pack pressed on for the rest of the day while Kiba carried Aibo so they could move faster.  
  
When night fell, the pack stopped for a peaceful slumber under the open starlight sky. Aibo had already fallen asleep by the time they decided to stop. Kiba had to practically pry Aibo off his back. Kiba laid the small boy on the ground and decided to once again allow the child to sleep next to him. Kiba lowered himself to the ground, and while settling next to Aibo, almost like a reflex, the child's arms wrapped around the white wolf's neck. Sometime later during the night Kiba heard Aibo talking in his sleep.  
  
"Kiba, promise that you'll never leave me alone," was the sleeping child's request.  
  
"All right," Kiba promised. Aibo's arms hugged tighter around Kiba's neck. Perhaps, in his dreams, the child had heard Kiba's promise.  
  
In the morning they continued onward, refreshed, eventually reaching a city where dozens of train tracks converged. The scent of lunar flowers called to the wolves from this place beckoning them to search within its confines.  
  
I'd like to congratulate all of you who have read this story up until this point. You have just read over one hundred pages! Give yourselves a pat on the back. In case anyone is wondering, I haven't forgotten about Darcia, Cher, and Cheza. They are going resurface in the next chapter. As for Hubb and Quent, I honestly put those two on that train so I could forget about them for a while. They will probably show up as well, but not for long. I'll just have to see where I go with the next chapter. I have also been looking foward to writing the next chapter. I promise it is going to be a long one.  
  
Once again, reviews are my lifeline. I need feedback from those of you reading this. It helps me with my writing and encourages me to keep going. And a big thank you again to everyone who has reviewed this story so far. 


	7. Echoes of the Heart

Okay, I know it's been a while, but I finally have the next chapter up. I have to apologize, the wolves are not in this chapter, but this one isn't really a transition chapter. The next chapter will almost only be about the wolves as a make up. I bet you did a double take when you saw the pairing for this chapter. It's really just fluff, I think (I'm not sure about the gray areas of its meaning). Anyway, I think I'm the only one to put Cher and Darcia together. However, don't worry it will make sense and I'm not just doing it to do it. Honestly, I had intended this chapter to be just a four or six page snapshot. But as I kept writing it just longer. I won't go too much into detail because I want you to read the chapter. :-) Ah, before I forget I just want to thank all my wonderful reviewers. Oh and I got five reviews for the last chapter! Yay!! I haven't had that many for a single chapter since chapter 1. You might need to refresh your memory with chapter one if the Cher x Darcia thing confuses you. This chapter isn't the one that I was talking about in the author's notes at the end of my last chapter. So the next chapter is the one that I am really looking forward to writing. Just to be clear, yes the wolves have just come upon the city that was in episode four or five. The one where Zali and his pack lives, but things aren't going to go like how they did last time. Just wait and see!

**Awrawrawrawrawrawra**: I'm so glad you liked the hunt scene and Tsume/Toboe's conversation. I was really worried about whether or not the talk between those two would come across like I wanted it to. Oh, and I think you are right about Kiba not being mean to Aibo. I want to agree with you right from the start so you know that I'm not getting defensive because I really like hearing from you. What I was hoping to do was set up a comment that was not truthfully mean, but could be easily misunderstood by say a little kid. I had wanted it to be a misunderstanding on Aibo's part (because he is just a little kid after all) which would make Kiba think more about how he interacted with the boy. I'm kind trying to get Kiba to open up to the kid, but at the same time I don't want to make it too easy. Anyway, thanks for the input on that part. I REALLY do mean it. I think you were the only reviewer to say something about it. I also addressed the discrepancy you noticed in an earlier chapter, so the delayed explanation is in here. Just look for it in one of Darcia's dialogues. I look forward to reading your comments on this chapter. :-)

**Mai Haymi**: Thank you very much! I so happy that you thought it was cute. :-) I tried to be more careful about the spelling and what not in this chapter. Unfortunately, I can't claim to be perfect so I'll have to live with the irking feeling that there are some errors which probably slipped by me. Oh well. One problem I've been having is that I keep reversing the c and i in Darcia when I type. And thanks for saying 'everything is great.' I get insecure at times and really appreciate the compliments. By the way, do you mind if I ask what "ja ne" means? If you can't tell I am somewhat of a newbe when it comes to the terms of the online world.

**CuteLittleSarah**: I see you changed your name (formerly Water Night Ume). Thank you for the kind review. I'm happy you liked the chapter.

**Nikki**: I'm glad to see that you're back. Thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you like the chapter.

**tebrighteyes**: Thanks for reviewing. I'm happy that you like my description and story line. I sometimes wonder if I drone on too much about the descriptions.

Now on to the chapter!

Episode 07: Echoes of the Heart

The air was deathly still. Not a single ray of light illuminated the dismal hallway. Darcia moved quickly down the familiar corridors of his own keep. He could sense something was terribly wrong. The noble hadn't exactly chosen any one particular destination, but the path his feet traveled was all too familiar.

Finally, a single beam of light pierced the darkness surrounding him. Darcia stood before the double doors that guarded his one and only; his most precious treasure--Harmona. One of the doors, however, was ajar having halfway fallen off its hinges. It was from this doorway which the light shone forth. Yet now, Darcia was certain matters had gone awry. These doors were never opened by anyone other than himself. Not even his loyal vassal was allowed to enter the room without his express permission. Slowly, with mounting fear and dread, Darcia slid the fallen door aside entering the room warily.

The sight he beheld was the greatest horror imaginable to him. Darcia's strength left him right at that moment as he fell to his knees overcome with grief and terror. The cords vital to supporting her life functions lie about the floor shredded into bits. Upon the smooth lavender bed rested Harmona's corpse. Her body was bloody and torn, mangled nearly beyond recognition, all except for her face. Her face had been left perfectly preserved almost as if to mock Darcia. He was allowed to see the one person he desired, and know she was lost to him forever. Darcia could only withstand sickening effect of the sight for an instant before dropping his head down, looking away.

His right eye--his wolf's eye--began to throb and burn. He cast aside his eye patch clutching the painful area of his face. The pain was so tremendously incredible. Darcia considered clawing the eye out with his bare hands if only to make the burning pain subside.

"You . . . you did this to me," Harmona's accusing voice rang throughout the room. "You . . . you killed me. You monster. You're nothing but a monster!"

Darcia raised his head to look up again. There before him stood a large black wolf. Its right eye was indigo blue and the left eye was golden yellow. They matched Darcia's eyes exactly, like looking at a mirror image. The wolf bared his fangs bellowing a resounding growl. The last thing Darcia saw was a flash of white as the wolf lunged for him.

Darcia shot bolt upright in his chair as his eyes flew open. His body was trembling drenched in a cold sweat. His hair had fallen out of place. Several errant strands hung in his face clinging into groups from the sweat that moistened them. A few sweat droplets trickled down the strands falling from his hair to land on the waiting surface below. Darcia watched the drops fall from his hair into his lap and then soak into the fabric of his robe. He suddenly became aware of just how ragged his breathing was as he continued drawing in deep panting breaths.

The noble shot panicked glances around the room, taking in his surroundings quickly. He was aboard his airship. It had all been a dream. Or was it? Darcia wasn't going to take any chances. He punched a few of the controls activating a small portion of the large screen before him. Immediately, his vassal--awaiting her master's return back at the keep--appeared on the screen.

"My lord, Darcia . . ." she greeted him only to be cut off.

"Harmona, how is she?!" he curtly demanded, forgetting his usual proper mannerisms.

"The lady's state is unchanged since the last time you checked. Is everything all right, my lord?" A concerned look grew on her face.

"Yes, everything is fine."

"My lord, you do not look well. Are you sure?"

"It is not a matter that needs not concern you," Darcia warned her.

"Please forgive my impertinence, my lord Darcia. I shall return to my duties, at once."

"Mmm," Darcia nodded his approval. Knowing that she was excused, the vassal left closing the communication link with her master. The screen before Darcia returned to its previously inactive state. He placed his right hand over his face closing both his eyes as he attempted to slow his breathing to normal. Darcia could feel the hard plastic of the eye patch, he always wore, through the fabric of his glove.

Darcia, finally, was able to calm himself down slowing his breathing to normal. He took a few moments to remember all that had been happening. This was the seventh time in the past two days he had had dreams such as this, and the seventh time he had called his vassal demanding to know Harmona's state. As a result, he hadn't slept much the past two nights. It was out of character for him to nap during the day, but sleep deprivation had weakened the sturdy noble, both in strength of body and mind. But why was he having these strange dreams? Were they a warning? Then the answer hit Darcia suddenly.

_That boy . . . What did he do to me?,_ Darcia pondered. "He said, 'I would be haunted by the same terror I had inflicted upon him'. What does that have to do with Harmona dying?" Darcia's eyes darted back and forth staring off into empty space as he mentally worked through his reasoning. "If these dreams were but a retribution for someone close to him that I killed, it would make some sense. Yet, who could it have been? I had never seen the child before that night." The noble finally chose to put the issue out of mind. He would try to sort it out later.

At the moment, Darcia's airship rested on the ground enveloped within the confines of a vast forest. He had chosen to stop for a rest to allow Cheza to drink and bask. Their departure from Orkham's city was hastened leaving Darcia with insufficient time to make the necessary preparations to sustain Cheza on their long voyage. As such, periodic stops were required to attend to the flower maiden's needs.

Darcia rose from his seat proceeding to the outside of the ship. Outside he found Cheza ankle deep in a large pond. Her face, eyes closed, was lifted to the sun's warmth. Cher sat on a small stone watching Cheza with great fascination. The noble joined the scientist by the water's edge. A look of displeasure swept across Cheza's face as Darcia neared, and so the flower maiden waded deeper into the pond until the water was at her waist.

"Fascinating," Cher observed. "Photosynthetic production is all she needs to sustain herself. And yet, why doesn't she speak? From the what the data indicates, auditory communication should be rather simple for Cheza. She's just as intelligent as any human and she possesses sentience."

"Cheza," Darcia began, "She despises both me and your people."

"But why? Cheza is human-like. I should think that she would be eager to interact with others similar to herself."

"Cheza may appear to look as we do. However, she is drawn to the wolves and the wolves are drawn to her. We are an obstacle to this end so she despises us," Darcia explained turning to look at Cher.

"Just like it says in the Book of the Moon. Perhaps if we show her more about our kind, Cheza might be more inclined to speak with us. I wonder what she thinks about," Cher pondered aimlessly.

Cher reached both her hands to the back of her head undoing the bun her hair was tied into. Her long blonde locks fell freely down her back. Darcia continued to stair at Cher taking in her profile and the way her hair flowed freely in the slight breeze that had just began to blow. He became fixated on the scientist, and found himself leaning closer and closer to her reaching a hand up slowly towards her face. Cautiously, he gently touched her cheek, stroking along her jaw line and stopping at her chin. As Cher felt Darcia's touch, she turned her face toward him. He cupped his thumb and index finger around her chin softly, and stared deep into her eyes.

"You . . . look so much like her," he whispered. Darcia leaned his face even closer to Cher's finally pressing his lips gently against her own silken ones. Cher was surprised, at first, but then found herself pressing back against Darcia's firm lips, as if by reflex. Darcia and Cher held their kiss for a few, long, blissful moments before parting. After it was all over, the two returned to their senses. Cher cast her gaze to the ground as her cheeks reddened. Darcia, too, looked away embarrassed at his loss of composure. "It is time for us to be going," he decided.

"Yes," Cher agreed. Darcia called for Cheza to come out of the water, but the flower maiden refused to acknowledge that she had heard anything.

"Cheza!" Darcia shouted his warning. His patience with the impudent flower maiden was wearing thin. Cheza responded this time by slowly wading out of the pond. Darcia looked back to where Cher had been sitting, but she had already returned to the ship.

Cher's mind was swimming as she returned to the airship. She wasn't sure what to make out of this. Darcia had just kissed her! And what's more, he compared her to Harmona. Cher couldn't decide how to take this. Did he feel an attraction to her or was she just some substitute? Darcia was very charming in his own right, and Cher had been quite taken with him since they first met. Yet neither one had let their relationship move past business. Cher never believed that Darcia would consider someone like her for romantic involvement, and it was this rationalization--she never stood a chance in the first place--that Cher used as her primary means of suppressing any attraction she felt towards the noble. However, he had made the first move scattering her reasoning to the winds.

Ever the scientist, Cher decided not to react. She would wait to see how Darcia responded to the situation. As soon as Cher's thoughts were gathered, the noble entered the airship preceded by the flower maiden. Cheza continued onwards to the rear portion of the vessel while Cher remained in the fore section near Darcia who had taken his place in the pilot's seat.

The large view screen before Darcia flittered to life displaying images of the forest that surrounded them. With a gentle resonating hum, the airships engines came to life swiftly lifting the vessel high into the sky. The deck rumbled and shook under the craft's own power causing Cher to cling to the wall for support as she lost her balance. After steadying herself, Cher grew a bit bold and moved closer to Darcia's side. He almost seemed to have forgotten about her as all his focus was diverted to the manipulation of the aircraft's controls.

"I think . . . we can both agree that it was a moment of weakness, correct?" Darcia asked finally choosing to acknowledge the woman's presence.

"Well . . . if that is how you feel," she replied cautiously.

"I do," he said flatly.

"All right then, a moment of weakness nothing more. It was simply poor judgment on both our parts," Cher stated trying, more than anything, to make it sound convincing to herself. She began to walk away when Darcia whispered a soft reply.

"I merely said it was weakness, not poor judgment. You honestly do remind me of her." In some strange way, those words made Cher feel a bit better about the whole situation. True enough, they had both agreed that it didn't mean anything and they both had to deny it ever happening. However, Darcia confessed that he did find Cher appealing. There was a peculiar sense of pride Cher felt grow inside herself as she realized this. Cher turned around and stole one last glance at Darcia before she joined Cheza in the back.

_He is terribly attractive,_ Cher smiled to herself. She soon found herself startled out of her reverie as the airship began to violently shake.

Cher heard explosions and high pitched screeches coming from outside the hull. Immediately, she ran back to the pilot's seat to see what was happening. Cher became nauseous as she caught sight of the view screen. The ship was currently in the middle of a barrel-roll. Then the ground left the screen completely leaving only endless blue and stray puffs of white to be seen. They were climbing straight up. The ship jerked violently and then the ground carpeted with endless green consumed the screen. The airship was in a nosedive now.

"Darcia, what's happening?" she managed to blurt out in a panic after overcoming the sick feeling in her stomach.

"It would appear that they have found us," he explained flatly as red beams arced around the ends of the screen. Darcia pulled the vessel up out of the dive just in time to avoid smacking into the ground. "We are not far from aid. If we can survive long enough, that is." The engines roared as the Darcia increased the ship's speed. A small sub screen appeared off to the side on the main screen. The image displayed was a large airship.

"That ship, whose is it?" Cher wondered aloud.

"It belongs to neither Orkham nor Jagara. It is far too large for anything they posses," Darcia answered. His fingers rapped along several keys causing several beams to launch directly at the approaching behemoth. All the shots from Darcia's airship were absorbed into the shields of the pursuing aircraft. "And far better armed, as well," Darcia commented.

As Darcia's airship continued to race through the sky, a large column of earth like a small mountain came into view. Upon its top plateau rested a small, yet grand castle and nestled into the side of the cylindrical mountain upon another plateau indented into the mountain was a small town. Then from the top plateau came two airships similar to the one Darcia piloted. The key difference being that they had a far more streamlined design and an arrowhead shape to their fore sections where the pilot's seat is located.

The new ships flew straight at the monstrous craft pursuing Darcia. Dozens of small red beam arced out and way from the two aircrafts and then reconverged into a single large beam. The two unified shots impacted and penetrated the pursuing ship's shields creating small explosions upon the behemoth's hull. The two smaller ships then broke away from their attack on the large ship coming up along side Darcia's aircraft, each flying in formation on either side of Darcia's ship. As the three ship ships neared the small mountain, the large pursuant ship fired a full volley of over twenty beams all at once.

The shots drew nearer and nearer the three fleeing ships when a ring of towers rose above the tree tops in the large forest surrounding the base of the mountain. The ring encompassed an expansive area and the three ships were now within the ring's perimeter. A wall of light rose from the towers forming an enormous dome over the cylindrical mountain and a large portion the surrounding forested area. The volley launched from the attacking ship was halted by the shield created from the towers. The large ship stopped its pursuit turning away to fly off back into Orkham's territory.

"I don't understand. What just happened?" Cher asked bewildered. Darcia turned to smile at her.

"Did my father's assistance surprise you that greatly?"

"Your father? Oh, yes . . . that's right, you are the third in your family's lineage. But were those really his?"

"Those aircraft are simple automated defense units," Darcia assumed that Cher was asking about the aircraft that flew along side them. He was feeling in somewhat of a good mood, and, knowing that Cher's curiosity had been nowhere near satisfied, chose to elaborate further. "There are no pilots. The vessels are controlled remotely. In fact, the two beside us now are the same model type Orkham wished me to lend him for assistance in creating Cheza."

Darcia's ship was escorted, by the two new airships, to the landing area atop the mountain. Once their aircraft was firmly settled on solid ground, Cher heaved a great sigh of relief. Darcia rose from his seat, motioning for Cher to follow, and collected Cheza from the rear of the vessel before opening the outer hatch.

The threesome were greeted by a large group of armed guards. Cher halfway expected their weapons to be pointed at her, Darcia, and the flower maiden. However, the guards were all standing at attention. They were, apparently, the greeting party for the return of their master's son. The group was approached by a manservant dressed in a loose blue robe with scarlet red trim and sash draped around the neck hanging over the shoulders.

"Welcome, lord Darcia the Third," the servant greeted Darcia with a respectful bow. "You're father, lord Darcia the Second, has been awaiting your arrival. I have instructions to bring you, and your guests, to him at once. Please, come this way, my lord."

Darcia, Cher, and Cheza were led from the large flat landing area towards the castle. They walked along an elegant stone pathway through a beautiful garden nestled next to the castle. The garden was a marvel adorned with fields of flowers alongside a pristine pond. Small-scale artificial waterfalls emptied themselves into the pond from the gorgeously decorated ivory-white and gold-laced aqueducts extending from the glorious edifice. Cheza and Cher were in awe as they took in the sights of the Darcias' garden.

Darcia took notice of the two ladies' amazement and a small smile graced his lips as he fondly remembered the moments he had shared with Harmona in this same garden. Moments Darcia had thought would never come to an end. Darcia wasn't honestly sure why he was smiling, especially with such grim thoughts swimming about in his head, but for the moment he felt happy. Perhaps, looking at Cher in this garden made him feel one step closer to having those moments with Harmona back . . .

_No, there is . . . more to it than her simply looking like Harmona,_ Darcia decided as he continued thinking over this feeling. Although Dr. Degre had some similarities in appearance to Harmona, there was something else that drew the noble to her. It was Cher's own unique qualities which had brought this joy to him. Darcia felt that perhaps there might even be a chance of himself living contentedly with Cher. _What am I thinking?!_ Darcia realized slightly startled. _This is what I get for allowing my mind to wander. How ludicrous,_ he thought laughing at himself inwardly.

Darcia would never betray Harmona; no matter how he may have felt towards another woman. One thing about Darcia, he was honorable and his loyalty was worth something to have. But still, this did not stop the feelings for Cher from growing inside his heart. It had been a long time since Darcia had been with Harmona in her rightful state. The time had seemed like an eternity to him as he worked tirelessly to cure her. Perhaps it was merely his own need for companionship which had brought about these feelings. Regardless, those emotions were still there and they weren't just going to go away. Darcia would have to resolve them and it was looking to be a painful experience.

"Excuse the interruption, my lord. But it is time that we were moving along. We do not wish to keep your father waiting," the manservant spoke respectfully breaking Darcia's chain of thought. "If you would not mind calling your guests along, please." Darcia nodded.

"Cher. Cheza," he called. Both looked rather disappointed at having to leave the garden, but the ladies didn't make Darcia wait. At last, the trio were led into the grand interior of the castle. The servant showed the group into the main hall of the castle.

"Magnificent. The garden and the castle are just as they were described in the Book of the Moon," Cher marveled.

"What exactly do you know about the Book of the Moon?" queried an unfamiliar, yet elegant voice. An older man--his appearance roughly that of middle age or mid-forties--who bore a striking resemblance to Darcia stood before the group. His left arm was interlocked with that of a lady servant standing next to him. His hair, loosely combed back, was black graying along the center of his hair line and on the sides next to his temples. He was dressed a black robe with an indigo stripe down the front center spanning the width of his chest from one shoulder to the next. Around his neck the man wore the crest of the house of Darcia on an ornate chain. Imbedded in the center of the crest was an additional feature--the image of a owl.

"Introducing his highness, lord Darcia the second," the manservant proclaimed before giving a final bow to all and leaving the room. Cher observed Darcia II closely. She noticed something peculiar about him. His indigo blue eyes always stared off into space never focusing on any object. Cher stepped to the side, out from behind Darcia, to get a better look.

"Does my blindness startle you so?" Cher gasped.

"I uh um," she stammered. Darcia II gave a small soft laugh.

"When one sense goes the other become sharper, my dear. Don't be so alarmed. Catching gawkers off guard is something of a pastime for me, and it is not something I am able to do often." He laughed once more a bit hardier this time. Well, at least he had a sense of humor much to Cher's relief and dismay. "So then, what are the names of these two ladies you've brought with you, Darcia?"

"Wait, how did you know there were three of us?" Cher asked curiosity starting to overcome her initial anxiety.

Darcia II smiled, "It is quite simple. Aside from your guide, there were three distinct sets of sounds with one heavier than the other two. Women tend to make softer footsteps than men. Apart from that, it is faint but one of you is wearing perfume of some sort. It has a pleasantly floral quality to it." The noble took a deep breath obviously savoring the aroma lingering in the air. "Getting back to the Book the Moon, I should wager that you might be interested in learning about that book's origins, miss . . ." his voice trailed off waiting for Cher to introduce herself.

"Degre, Dr. Cher Degre and yes, I would like to learn more about the book."

"Do we really have time for this dalliance?" Darcia groaned with growing impatience.

A look of displeasure crossed Darcia II's face, "Well then, speak your mind."

"Harmona, I wish to," Darcia was cut off by his father.

"To bring her here?" Darcia II finished for his son. "It is because of the dreams of her death and that strange wolf, correct?" He paused taking amusement in his son's confusion made apparent by the sounds Darcia was making. "It has already been taken care of. She will arrive within the hour. Harmona's old room has already been furnished with all that you shall require to sustain her at this place."

"How? How could you have known?"

"I had foreseen your arrival in my dreams. Along with your own nightmare. I take it that your second guest is the flower maiden."

"Correct," Darcia replied curtly.

"Very well. Dr. Degre, if you would not mind waiting for me in my study we may continue our earlier dialogue," Darcia II released his arm from his lady servant's and motioned to have her show Cher to the study. The two women were soon gone leaving the noble to direct his attention towards his son. "Darcia I believe you can occupy yourself by checking over the preparations to receive Harmona," his voice was slightly cross from his son's previously brusque attitude. "I shall show the flower maiden to the garden. I believe you would like that, yes?" Darcia II addressed Cheza waiting for her reply. She gave none, however. "I will let you decide once we arrive there, then." He smiled to Cheza and then strode, unaided, to the main hall's door. Darcia II held the door open. "After you," he politely directed. Once his father and Cheza were gone, Darcia left the hall to set about his own tasks.

The noble guided Cheza easily throughout the castle's many passages. He moved just as casually as anyone with sight. Cheza found it quite interesting that the noble could find his way around so flawlessly without his sight. She did not dislike this noble nearly as much as his son. Even though it hadn't shown on her face, Cheza was quite happy that Darcia II had asked if she would like to return to the garden. He was the first person she had ever met who asked what she wanted to do. Cheza finally decided to speak with him.

"This one is curious. How do you see?" she finally asked. Darcia II slowed his pace to walk alongside Cheza.

He smiled, "I have lived in this place for most of my life. Being blind is something you learn to live with, and I have learned to live with it. I know all the halls and passages of my castle. In fact, I am also familiar with all the of my garden and most of the city below."

"But why?" she asked.

"Would you want to stay cooped up inside a castle all the time?" This time Cheza smiled.

"This one would not."

"Do you have a name?"

"This one is called Cheza."

"As you already know, I am Darcia the second, but you may call me whatever you like." This earned a small giggle from Cheza. She could not be truly content in this place, but Darcia II had made her happy for the moment. "Do you know that you are a person?" he asked suddenly growing serious.

"This one has not thought about if before," she replied looked back at him confused.

"You are not an object. Do not ever let anyone convince you otherwise. Person-hood is not something reserved for humans and nobles. It encompasses all sentient life. Do you understand?"

"This one is not sure. Why does it matter if this one is a person or not?"

"Do you not have your own thoughts and wants? What is it that you desire above all else?"

"To be with him," Cheza answered simply.

"The white one?" Cheza's eyes widened in surprise. "He will come for you soon enough. Yet he and the others still have a dangerous road ahead of them before they reach this city. May I ask what his name is?"

"Kiba, do you know where he is?" she sounded hopeful.

"Sadly, I do not. Do not fret, the wolves will find help along their perilous journey. They will reach you here, safely. I have foreseen it."

"Will you . . . let this one leave? Will you let this one go with him, with all of them?"

"Is that what you want?" Cheza nodded vigorously. Then she remembered her companion was blind.

"Yes, very much!"

"Then I have no intention of stopping you," he place his hand gently on her shoulder to add reassurance.

"But . . ." she paused.

"Darcia? He might be the head of the family now, but this is still MY keep. What I say goes!" At this answer, Cheza hugged the aging noble grateful for his kindness. He patted the back of her head affectionately, like a father would his daughter.

"What is it that Darcia desires from this one?" Cheza asked finally letting go.

"You mean he never told you?" Cheza confirmed his assumption. "Do you know what 'Paradise Sickness' is?"

"This one does not."

"Has Darcia ever asked you for your assistance? No, I guess he never did if you did not know what he wanted from you. Well, Darcia will just have to deal with the consequence of his poor decisions. If you do not wish to help him, I will not let Darcia get in the way of your departure with the wolves. You have my promise on this."

At last the two arrived in the garden. Darcia II could literally feel Cheza's mood brighten as she once again took in the beautiful scenery. He bid her to go wander as she pleased. Cheza halfway danced as she strolled through the flowers and sat by the bank of the pond. At that moment, the flutter of wings caught Darcia II's attention. He held out his right arm and a large brown owl with speckled wings landed on his arm.

"Tell me, how does she look now?"

"Whooo," the owl cooed, "a chorus of a thousand flowers they all sing as one!" Darcia II laughed slightly.

"She enjoys their singing as do I," he mused and then grew serious. "Listen carefully to me. A pack of wolves will soon be coming to this city. They must pass through the forest which guards this mountain and its aerial city. I want you to wait for them and whoever else might be accompanying them. Guide the wolves through safely to this city. Understand?"

"Whhhoooooo! We all wander in and get lost as one! Well done, well done!" the owl cooed and the flew off into the sky.

Meanwhile, Darcia wandered about the castle. He never did like being told what to do, and checking on the preparations for receiving Harmona was the last thing on his 'to do' list. Besides, Darcia felt that there wasn't any need to be breathing down the necks of the already anxious servants when it was his father he was irritated with. Suddenly, Darcia realized exactly where his feet had taken him. He stood right outside the study. Cher was waiting inside. Darcia reached for the door latch, but hesitated just short of touching it. He was surprised by his own actions.

_Why is it that I desire to see her again?_ Darcia questioned himself. He was not an indecisive person, even when it came to romantic involvements. Darcia had always known and pursued, without second thought, what he wanted in his relationship with Harmona from the very beginning. But with Cher, it seemed much different.

Darcia then reached an epiphany. He had never pursued a woman who might actually turn him down. In fact, Harmona was the only woman he had ever let himself love. She was his first love, and he thought his only. However, Darcia knew that he felt something for Cher. But was it really love? Darcia pried deep into his own soul--he HAD to know the answer. As he compared his feelings for Cher to the ones he held for Harmona, Darcia found their similarity. There was a delight he found in both women which he received from nothing else in life.

Harmona was the safe choice because she had already chosen Darcia as her love, but Cher was undecided. That was what made the scientist appealing to Darcia, even more so than Harmona. It was the risk involved. Darcia had never had to face the risk of rejection. To know that the one he would love had had the opportunity and power of will to reject him, yet still decided to choose him as their love. This kind of relationship held a greater strength and quality in Darcia's view. He wanted it. Darcia wanted that kind of pure and tempered relationship that possessed the strength to withstand the tests of time. This type of bond was far more appealing to him than a false one which had never been tested and possibly built upon a lie. Darcia opened to door with renewed confidence determined to speak openly with this woman who appealed to him so greatly.

"Oh, Darcia," Cher greeted the noble slightly surprised. However, from the tone of her voice it was obvious to Darcia that Cher was pleasantly surprised. Where is your father? I thought he would be coming shortly."

"I think the old man will be delayed in the garden. He likes to listen to the flowers sing, or so he claims," Darcia replied smiling warmly at Cher.

"Is . . . there something on your mind?" Cher was a bit confused at the fact that Darcia seemed a little too pleased to be in her company. She fought back the memory of what had happened by the pond trying to keep it below the surface of her consciousness.

"Did you know that my father was not always blind? It happened shortly after Harmona fell ill."

"I see."

"After my father's sight departed, he began to claim having strange dreams often with prophetic meaning. Then later my father claimed that he could hear the flowers singing. I have tried several times to hear their song to humor the old man, but nothing ever came of it. He would always say that, 'people never stop and take the time to listen'."

"Do you think that you want to change you belief in his abilities?" Cher was puzzled as to why Darcia was sharing all this personal information with her. _Perhaps, he might just be lonely,_ Cher reasoned.

"I am . . . not certain yet. However, your presumption was mistaken."

"Excuse me, but what do you mean? What presumption?"

"You assumed Harmona is my wife. Her and I . . . we are merely betrothed. There is no marriage between Harmona and myself. I . . . find you appealing," Darcia trailed off there waiting to see how Cher would react.

"I see, but the promise is hers to break not yours, correct?" Darcia nodded. Cher started to blush as she gathered her words. "I must admit I find you appealing as well, but," she paused to plan what she would say next. "But, I understand your loyalty to her, and I would not think of undermining it." Cher returned Darcia's warm smile. "If there is any way I can help, then I'll do everything I am able to assist you in curing her illness. I guess that as for how we feel about one another . . ." Cher was hesitant to say what they both already knew. Cher and Darcia would have to bury what they felt for one another. Before Cher could continue, Darcia moved to her swiftly. He gently placed a finger over her lips shaking his head side to side.

"There is no need to say it. We cannot act, however, we do not have to forget." Darcia leaned in slowly, giving Cher a long kiss. Cher returned the kiss, deepening it. She became caught up the moment. It was like something out of a fairy tale and before her stood the prince. The thought was nice, Darcia--her fairy tale prince.

_It's too bad I can't be with him. If I could, I wouldn't have to feel guilty about . . ._ Cher was suddenly jerked from her blissful rapture as her mind was flooded by thoughts of Hubb and the tragic event which led to their marriage's demise. Hubb believed that Cheza was the reason for their divorce, but only because that is what Cher wanted him to believe. In all honesty, the guilt from that terrible event still ate away at her everyday, and that was why she could no longer remain with Hubb.

It was too painful for her the way he tried to pretend it never happened, as if nothing was wrong. Hubb was far too willing to forget and go back to the way things were. It was because of this that Cher was unable to move on. Perhaps she was short with Hubb at times because every time Cher saw his face she was torn up on the inside because the event was her fault. At least, that is how Cher always saw it in her mind. She had always blamed herself and had yet to forgive herself.

Cher pulled away from the wonderful touch of her handsome noble. She hated to have to leave that marvelous touch which promised to let her move past her pain and give her happiness unlike any she had experienced.

"Perhaps, you might stay on with me after Harmona has recovered?" Darcia's voice sounding hopeful.

"Perhaps I might, if you would have me stay," Cher answered coyly. "May I ask you something?" Darcia gave Cher a look of curiosity in reply. "What are you hiding behind that eye patch?"

"Ah. I do not believe you will like what you see."

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that."

"Very well." Darcia held both his eyes shut as he removed his eye patch unhooking it from his ear. Then slowly he reopened them revealing his one normal eye and his wolf's eye to Cher. She was able to behold his all the features of Darcia's face before succumbing to the power of his wolf's eye.

Darcia nimbly caught Cher's limp, unconscious body around her back with one arm. He gracefully scooped up Cher and carried her into an empty bedroom laying her to rest in large bed. After sliding her sleeping form beneath the soft sheets, Darcia left Cher to a peaceful rest. As Darcia left, he wore a glad expression upon his countenance. While Cher fell into unconsciousness, she wore a smile as she gazed upon his face. Darcia had risked rejection, but Cher had accepted him.

Outside, Darcia II stood in his garden as a slight breeze blew softly, tugging lightly at his garments causing his robe to billow softly. The wind carried with it a whisper that was just barely audible to him. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the sound. There was a distinctly musical quality to the harmonious murmur. It was singing. The song was fondly familiar to Darcia II. He noticed that Cheza seemed to be aware of the song, as well. Softly, at first, the flower maiden began to only hum the tune. After a few moments Cheza sang openly to the air, the sky, the sun, the clouds, the flowers around her, and the mountain itself.

The soft whisper Darcia II enjoyed rose, growing in strength, until it became a strong swelling chorus thousands of voices strong. He then joined the choir surrounding him singing the song of the flowers which loved so much. His voice coalesced with the rhythm and tone of the singing, in unison with _all_ the flowers around him. They sang the glorious verse again and again for the better part of the afternoon until the sun finally set.

_Shiro, shiro._

Yoh du-rets kah.

Shiro, shiro.

Ny-ets dea kah . . .

End Episode

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will please review. My classes start this Monday and I'm not looking forward to it. College is rough. The chapters might come out a bit slower than what they have been, but I WILL keep going! The days I usually have time to post chapters are Saturday and Sunday around the evenings.

To clear up any lingering confusion, in the series it was said that the house of the Darcia's had fallen into ruin after being cursed by Paradise. However, since this is the next lifetime the house of the Darcia's is still around and was able withstand being cursed by Paradise. The world is better off this time around. The world and cities are not as devastated as they were in the show. I have no idea how long the life span of a noble is, but I would guess that it far exceeds that of humans. I think that two hundred years isn't very much time to them at all.

Once again, please review. It is also helpful if you tell me what parts you like or found confusing. It helps me improve and gives me ideas about where to go, so thanks in advance. By the way, am I keeping everyone in character? I hope so. Please let me know if you have any thoughts. See you again next episode (next one will be very long). I really love these new upgrades to the site. It really made posting this chapter SO much easier.


	8. Song of the Moon

Wow, I can't believe it's been four months, one day, ten hours, thirty-eight minutes, and forty seconds since I last updated. Yikes! This semester did fly by, but sheesh was it tough. Don't take French as your foreign language unless: you've already had it or really like it. That language is HARD. I'm really glad to be posting again. During the semester I also did work really hard on this chapter in what free time I could steal from work, homework, and classes. I promised you readers a long chapter, and this one is LONG. I'll give you the page tally at the end because I don't want to scare anyone away. I'm also gonna put the reader replies at the end of the chapter. I think that's the most reviews I've gotten for a single chapter. Yay! I was also shocked when I got reviews several months after I had posted the story. I've tried out some new stuff with this chapter so PLEASE tell me what you think.

I also need to make an announcement. (Puts hand on a stack of seven Bibles) I promise not to commit the seven deadly sins of the Mary-Sue. Not sure if there are seven, but it sounded really cool in my head. I'll just let you readers figure out what that means. I'm not gonna try to explain. Just read the chapter as a whole and then make up your opinions, okay. Also, don't check the bottom notes until after you read the chapter because I'm gonna talk about some of the stuff in the chapter.

All right, onto the chapter and enjoy!

* * *

Episode 08: Song of the Moon 

The horizon was a glow as the setting sun bid its farewell to the city. A recent snow had blanketed the ground in white. The wolves walked against a backdrop of fire red and orange while they trekked along a set of train tracks leading into the city. Their breaths escaped in hazy puffs as they followed the scent of lunar flowers. Kiba led the way, of course, closely followed by Hige, Aibo, and Toboe in the middle with Tsume leisurely bringing up the rear.

"Hey Kiba, what do you think we'll find in this place?" Toboe asked a little eager with anticipation. Kiba only shrugged as he continued walking.

"Trouble . . ." Aibo answered succinctly. The boy had become oddly silent as they neared the town.

"What's eatin' you, squirt?" Hige queried looking down at the kid.

"I came through this city on my way to find all of you. There's a local pack here, and well . . . they . . . don't like outsiders," the wolves could detect a trace hint of fear in Aibo's voice.

"Sounds like you've already met them. So, you gonna tell us what happened or not?" Tsume's tone relayed only halfhearted interest, however, he did quicken his pace coming alongside the others.

"Maybe . . . we should just forget about it."

"You don't have to be afraid," came Kiba's confident voice. "We're not going let anything happen to you." With Kiba's reassurance, Aibo mustered up the courage to speak.

"They just . . . they did something bad to me all right . . ." the boy transfixed his gaze on the ground. Kiba moved over to Aibo and placed a hand on the boy's head. The wolf knelt down locking eyes with the child.

"We'll leave as soon as we find what we're looking for. In the mean time, just stick with us and you'll be fine. Now come on, let's go." Aibo gave an obedient nod.

"Thanks."

The pack inadvertently entered huge train station via the train tracks. There were hundreds of people about the place all going in every last possible direction. The station was definitely the heart of the city. It looked to function as a major access hub for transportation in the north. Some of the people were passengers simply waiting for their next train. Others were business people, or workers moving various cargo ranging in all various types of shape and size.

There was one group of workers that just somehow stood out from the others. They were hauling lots of small boxes out of their cargo train. However, the workers weren't taking the equipment out of the station. Instead they merely relocated it to a sectioned off locale within the station. Then something caught Toboe's attention.

"Guys look at this!" he shouted, though the volume of his voice wasn't an issue since nothing less than a shout could be heard above the din from the crowd. "What is it?" Toboe, ever brimming with the curiosity of a pup, had noticed a flashy poster, something which was relatively new to him.

"It's an advertisement. It says something about a concert tomorrow night," Aibo answered being the only one able to read it.

"What's a concert?" Toboe replied.

"Who gives a damn about what these stupid humans are doing?" Tsume was a bit irritated at this unnecessary distraction.

"I was just curious," Toboe sulked. Tsume raised an eyebrow at the whining pup.

"Get over it," the gray wolf ordered playing the role of Toboe's surrogate sibling yet again. Although, it was a job Tsume was starting to become accustomed to.

The wolves expedited their departure from the hustle and bustle of the noisy station. Kiba resumed the lead following his nose as he tracked down the source of the lunar flower scent. However, what they found wasn't quite what they were looking for. They had meandered into some of the back alleys and stumbled across some strange humans clustered together. A closer look revealed these people to be wolves--masked by nothing more than weak illusions.

These wolves were the local pack Aibo had warned about. There was a single female among the group, and next to her sat an older wolf with a scar on the left side of his face. Five members of the group stood; their malicious intent was evident in their muffled chuckles. As they approached the pack, it soon became clear who their leader was. The five stopped dead in their tracks as the scared wolf shot a glare in their direction. When the scared wolf continued his cold stare the five quickly retreated to their original seated positions. The scared wolf rose from his seat turning to face Kiba and the others. His human appearance also bore the scar on his face. He wore a black jacket with red stripes, a blue shirt, and black pants. His hair was blonde and his face was that of an older man.

"You got a name?" the scared wolf questioned Kiba, gruffly.

"Kiba," came his curt reply. Then he gave the other wolf a look which implied 'and you?'

"Zali. Where are you boys from?" Apparently, Zali thought he was the only one to be asking questions.

"We came from a city to the north." The two pack leaders continued their stare down.

"Why are you here?" Zali demanded.

"We're just passing through. We'll be leaving soon," Kiba gave a cold reply.

"YOU GOT THAT RIGHT!" shouted one of the wolves in the group. He had a rounded nose and wore a tacky yellow cap and jacket with a lavender shirt. His shout was followed by several agreeing murmurs. Zali snapped his head around.

"Moss!" the pack leader snarled. This shut them up--and quick.

"Where are you going?" Zali turned his attention back to the outsiders. His tone was still harsh and demanding.

Kiba felt a small hand grab a firm fistful of his pant leg and two sharp tugs followed. He turned and looked down at Aibo, who had been hiding behind the white wolf the whole time. Aibo slowly shook his head back and forth with a serious--and seriously scared--look on his face. Kiba raised an eyebrow trying to understand what had the kid so worked up. The Aibo mouthed the words 'don't tell them' while his eyes pleaded with Kiba. However, Toboe started to speak up at that point.

"We're going to . . ." Toboe started.

"That's our business!" Kiba cut Toboe off. Toboe looked at Kiba in confusion for a moment before noticing the way Kiba's stance was shifted. The russet wolf realized that Kiba and Aibo had been exchanging glances, but as to why the pup was still uncertain.

"Don't tell me you're looking for Paradise. You don't take that myth seriously, do you?" Zali pressed. When Kiba didn't answer the other wolf's interrogation Zali smirked. "We've been there. . . It was no paradise." This statement didn't sit well with Kiba. However, to everyone's surprise, Aibo answered the stranger's challenge.

"You're lying."

"What?" Zali growled slowly, staring at the child. Aibo returned the wolf's stare.

"You're lying. You couldn't have gone there. It's locked and, you didn't mention anything about the Cradle of Neo Geneses."

"Wait . . . you, you're that kid," Zali looked like he suddenly recognized Aibo.

"Excuse me," came a voice which startled everyone. The voice was distinctively female. "I'm looking for a man named Zali. Could any of you possibly help me out?" the speaker had an unusually lovely voice. It was deep and richly feminine, rather than high pitched and sugary sweet like most female voices.

Zali turned and faced the woman asking for him. She had light ruby-red eyes and a softly tanned complexion. Her hair hung down to her mid back and was jet black with a slight curl to it. She wore a red velvet coat that draped nearly to the ground. The coat had fur trims along it's collar and sleeve openings. The girl's arms rested in front of her hanging freely since she had tucked her hands inside the sleeves to keep them from the cold. Her voice had made her sound older, more matured, than what she really was. Honestly, the young woman looked to be around Tsume's age. However, there was something odd about this girl.

"Yeah, that's me. So what do you want?"

"I hear you have a team of canines that help with the cargo from the trains."

"So?"

"So, I'd like to hire you and your team," she paused letting her words dangle for a moment, "if you're interested, of course." She pulled out a small card and scribbled something on it. "How's this amount?" she asked casually handing Zali the card. Her hands were slender and graceful ending with long fingernails decorated with red nail polish. He gasped as he read what this stranger wanted to pay him. With that much, his pack wouldn't have to work at all for a very long time. "Drop by the station if you want the job. Tell them, 'Kyoko Tensei sent you.' That'll be enough to convince Joachim," she nodded to herself. As the woman started to walk away she called out, "Kage, let's go." The person she called to, Kage, seemed to appear out of nowhere. He had been standing near the group on the side opposite her.

Kage looked roughly about the same age as Kiba. Kage's hair was black and hung to about shoulder length in the back, but was trim along the sides, front, and top. He wore a white shirt tucked into black jeans and a large black trench coat. The coat had a high collar and was long enough that it dragged along the ground. Kage's eyes were a striking emerald green, and they had a piercing stare to them. His hands were casually stuffed into waist level side pockets of his coat.

As he stepped forward to follow the young woman, his trench coat billowed out to the sides and everyone caught sight of the guns he wore. Two silver clip-load pistols rested, butts outwards, in brown leather holsters on a belt around his waist. A third gun, quite odd compared to the pistols, was strapped into a rectangular holster on the outer side of his left leg between his calf and shin.

Kage sauntered between Zali and Kiba as he followed the girl. As Kage passed Kiba, the two locked eyes in a brief stare. Kiba learned something startling about Kage. The white wolf could _tell_ that Kage, himself, was also a wolf. For a single instant, Kiba could see a ghostlike echo of Kage's wolf form. Kage was a black wolf with a white chest and underbelly. The two wolves seemed to recognize one another, however, the notion went unmentioned. The woman and the wolf were soon out of sight. As the odd pair continued their walk, the young woman spoke up.

"Hey Kage, those the same wolves from that city to the north you told me about? The ones that seemed to have gotten themselves in deep with Dark?" Kage was silent. She had learned that this was a good as a 'yes' from him. "So, do you wanna hook up with them or something? They are your own kind, after all."

"Shut up," Kage emphasized both words. "Just because I'm your bodyguard, Kyo, doesn't mean we're friends," he added in his cool smooth voice.

"I know, I know," Kyo retorted rolling her eyes. "I DO remember the rules. You'll hang around as long as I'm useful, but if I get in your way, you're outta here. And no questions about your personal life. I just thought that they might want to help, that's all. I didn't mean to pry."

"I don't need help. It's my business. I'm leaving now."

"Will you be coming to the concert?" Kage didn't give an answer. "It isn't going to be held for a while, so I'm sure you'd have plenty of time to take care of whatever it is you do when you're gone." This earned Kyo an irritated stare from the black and white wolf. "I just thought it might be nice, and who knows . . . you might enjoy it." Still no answer. "Just so you know, I meant it when I said I wanted to be there and help when you finally confront Dark."

"We'll see . . . about the concert, I mean," he finally replied before he ran off into the city.

Kyo smiled to herself. _He's so easy to read. Kage tries to put on a loner act, but he's such a sweetheart underneath. It just takes a little effort to drag that part out. I just wish he'd tell me why he wants to go after that noble so badly. Well, regardless, I still think he'll enjoy Black Cat's performance at the concert,_ she thought to herself. "Okay, let's see what kind of trouble I can get into in this town," Kyo laughed to herself as she set off.

Meanwhile, Kiba and the others had been left rather bewildered. The pack didn't bother sticking around long enough for Zali to remember them. Eventually, they followed the lunar flowers' scent to the edge of town. They wound up in a cemetery with a pipe-like sewer entrance jutting out from a hillside and leading deep into the ground. The pipe was large enough so that they could walk upright if they crouched just a little once inside. However, the tunnel was blocked by a huge door with an electronic lock.

"Dammit," Kiba sighed in frustration while slamming his against the door. "We're so close."

Hige put his face up close to the dusty keypad and gave it a couple sniffs just for curiosity's sake. "I've seen these things before. If ya don't have the right code you'll never get it open." The tan wolf back away and plopped down on the ground. Hige decided to ask the question that was burning on everyone's mind, but no one wanted to say, "So . . . what now?" Almost as if in answer to Hige's question, Kiba tried to pry his fingers between the door crack and force it open.

"Yeah, like that's gonna work," Tsume sneered trying to get Kiba to think about what he was doing.

"You got any better ideas, Tsume?" Kiba responded angrily, pausing from his endeavor for only a moment. Tsume rolled his eyes. He walked over to blue-eyed boy and with a sigh put a hand on his shoulder.

"Kiba, your going to hurt yourself. Settle down and think." Kiba actually stopped, seeming to listen to Tsume's advice. "Look, let's find a place to rest for the night."

"The sun is starting to set, and it'll just get colder at night," Toboe chimed in.

"Hey Kiba, come on. Maybe we'll find something in the city to help us out tomorrow," Hige added.

"All right, fine," Kiba sighed. He really didn't want to quit now that they had just found the source of the scent, but there wasn't anything he could do about it at the moment. The pack spread out and scouted the cemetery for a building which could provide decent shelter from the coming cold. Aibo tagged along with Kiba as they searched for a place to sleep. The pack finally settled on a small building near the cemetery's entrance. The roof had long since caved in, but it had four walls and the floor was clean enough to sleep on.

"Oh, yeah. This is reeeaaal cozy," Hige whined.

"Shut up," came Tsume's irritated response. The pack settled in for the night, but Kiba was still feeling restless.

"I'm going for a walk," Kiba announced climbing to his feet. It was still somewhat early for going to sleep, and no one seemed to mind. The pack had lain about for quite a while, waiting for sunset so they could get some sleep, when it suddenly dawned on Toboe that someone was missing.

"Hey guys, where's Aibo?"

"He took off after Kiba. Kid snuck away while he thought no one was looking," Tsume answered.

"You just now caught on, runt?" Hige teased. Toboe just scowled at Hige as an uneasy silence settled between all of three. Then a thought occurred to Toboe that moved him to break the calm.

"Hey guys, do you remember that strange girl we tried to rescue in that other city? What was her name?"

"Cheza," Hige answered.

"Well, I was just thinking. Is it just me, or did it feel like we were supposed to know her? She felt really familiar." The others only gave thoughtful stares as they considered what Toboe had said.

"I guess it's safe to say that we all felt it . . . even Kiba, I bet."

"I wonder what he's up to," Toboe pondered.

Right then, Kiba was traipsing around through the city trying to find the pack from earlier. He wanted to get a few answers about that door in the cemetery. Kiba figured Zali had asked enough questions so it was only fair that the white wolf get his turn to play the interrogator. However, Kiba was no fool and knew this was going to be dangerous enough for himself, so he didn't want the others along just incase Zali and his pack didn't take kindly to a round of brusque questioning. Perhaps if luck was with him, Kiba might be fortunate enough to find Zali alone.

Just then, the white wolf was startled by a loud noise from behind. As Kiba spun around, he mentally berated himself for getting so distracted in thought that he had let someone sneak up on him. What Kiba found was Aibo, sheepish grin plastered to the boy's face, standing next to an overturned trash can. Kiba's brow narrowed in irritation.

"Uh hi, so what'cha up to?" Aibo offered nonchalantly.

"Go back to the others, now," Kiba's voice was stern and left no room for argument, at least that is how most would have taken it.

"Um, I just wanted to come with you," the child persisted. Kiba normally didn't mind Aibo's antics too much, but now Aibo was _really_ in the way.

"I said GO," Kiba raised his voice.

"But . . ."

"NOW!" Kiba snapped, flashing his canines at the boy. Aibo jumped back genuinely frightened. He stared, holding his breath, wide eyed at Kiba before wheeling around and running away. The white wolf sighed. He hadn't meant to do that, but at least it would keep the kid out of trouble if he was back with the others.

Kiba started to walk forward again continuing his search for the local pack's leader. A few moments later a scream reached Kiba's ears. His heart stopped. It was Aibo's voice he'd heard. The white wolf wasted no time in racing off towards the sound. Kiba practically flew, his feet hammering against the pavement beneath him.

"AIBO, AIBO!" Kiba called out, but no reply came. Now he was really scared. The fear began to work itself into a knot in the back of his throat. _If anything's happened to him I . . . I . . . _Kiba trailed off in thought. He kept running frantically trying to find the boy, but his efforts were to no avail. As Kiba drew in one heavy breath after another a slightly metallic scent reached his nostrils. The nerve impulses that fired off from this scent triggered a response in Kiba's mind that ramped his heart rate up an hundred fold. Blood. It was Aibo's. There was no mistaking _that_ scent. Kiba soared like a bat out of hell towards the scent. Whatever was there with Aibo was going to DIE.

Finally, the scent grew stronger, and Kiba knew he was close. He rounded a corner into an alley between two brick buildings. There in front of him, Kiba found Aibo being suspended in the air as a fist clenched the collar of the boy's shirt. Aibo's back was towards Kiba, but he could still see how bad off the boy was. Aibo's right calf had been dug into with the fangs of a wolf as evidenced by the blood stained holes in his pant leg. Kiba also saw bites and deep scratch marks on the boy's arms, shoulders, neck, and the blood that dripped from the lacerations. Apparently, Aibo had tried to run from his assailants, but they still caught him. The person that held Aibo was one of the wolves from the local pack. It was the one Zali had referred to as Moss. There were four others along with Moss.

"I thought I told you never to come back here. Looks like you didn't learn your lesson. And you brought others with you. Guess I'll just have to teach you again!" Moss yelled into Aibo's face causing the boy to flinch.

"Put him down," Kiba commanded, the rage in his voice seething over causing the words to reverberate off the alley walls around them. Aibo turned his head around to see Kiba standing there. The white wolf's expression was furious and horrified at the same time. If it was in Kiba's power, these wolves would die horrible deaths right here and now. Kiba was only slightly relieved to see Aibo alive and still conscious. But if Aibo had been conscious the whole time, why hadn't he responded to Kiba's call? That thought tore at Kiba to the core, but he would have to deal with it later.

"You again," Moss spat. "If you want the little shit, then come and get him!" With that Moss threw Aibo against the brick wall to Kiba's right. Aibo's head slammed against the stone with a sickening thud. Then the boy's body slumped to the ground.

That was it. Kiba's rage roared above the breaking point. He shed his human form as his lupine body bolted at Moss. Kiba was going to kill him, now. That sorry excuse for wolf had drawn his last breath. However, it wasn't to be. The other four with Moss were on Kiba in an instant, cutting the white wolf's valiant charge short. Even as he struggled to get free, their fangs and claws pierced deep into his flesh. The other wolves tore at Kiba's shoulders, legs, and any where else they could bite. The small group's leader finally sauntered over once he was sure Kiba couldn't escape the others' grasp. Moss mercilessly pounded away at Kiba's face striking him again and again. Kiba's pure snow white fur became stained into crimson with his own blood before Moss finally had his fill. The other four wolves also released their grip on Kiba as Moss backed away. The five local wolves, satisfied with their work, left the injured Kiba and the unconscious Aibo for dead.

Kiba finally struggled onto all fours once the other wolves had left. He staggered over to where Aibo lay retaking his human form which also bore the battering Kiba had taken. His jacket and pants were shredded, the large tears revealing his wounds which still poured blood. Many deep cuts also adorned his bloodied and bruised visage. Kiba gathered up Aibo's limp form. He supported the child with weary arms trying to rouse the boy.

"Aibo, Aibo, please . . . wake up," Kiba pleaded trying make sure the boy was still alive. There was no reply save for the small boy's breathing. Kiba thought about how he was going to get them back to the others, but his strength was failing him fast. He couldn't stand any longer and fell back against the wall, slumping all the way to the ground. As he lay there on the ground, Kiba pulled Aibo closer to him trying to keep the boy warm. They were both in serious trouble, and this was the best Kiba could do until he regained the strength to walk. "Sorry," Kiba confessed running a hand along Aibo's head. "I hadn't wanted this to happen. I'll take care of you." Kiba fought desperately to stay awake, but with each passing moment the weight of his eyelids became harder and harder to resist. Knowing it was a gamble, Kiba summed up the last of his strength drawing in a large breath letting his proud and mighty howl rip loose through the city. Just before his mind fell in the black abyss which came to claim him, Kiba heard three howls answer his own. _They're . . . coming . . ._ was his last thought before he fell into unconsciousness.

In another part of the city, Kyo found herself returning to the station; first things had to be taken care of first, after all. As she entered the building, the burgeoning mass of people had dissipated. Most were fans that had come to this city for the concert. By now they had dispersed among the city looking for places to stay the night. Kyo was spotted by the last person in the world she wanted to meet at that moment.

"Kyo, where have you been? And where the hell is that bodyguard of yours? Why isn't he with you?" The assault of questions came from a very anxious looking man in a black business suit. His hair was black and greased back while his eyes were a light brown.

"Joachim, I'm a big girl," Kyo answered sarcastically, "I _can_ take of myself." She had been gone all morning without so much as a word to where she was going. He always freaked whenever she took off.

"I don't care. That's it, he's fired!" Joachim was obviously frustrated.

"You can't fire Kage, he doesn't work for you. And remember, technically you're the one who works for me. Besides, I gave him the rest of the day off."

"How do you expect me to do my job if you keep disappearing?" he sounded rather panicked.

"Joachim," Kyo stared him right in the eyes. "Breathe! Just take a deep breath and calm down."

"There's just still so much to do: the final equipment check, rehearsals, sound tests, and we still haven't set up the stage yet. And what if something goes wrong!" Joachim was talking a mile a minute.

"Look, I've never missed a concert before, and I'm not going to start now. Now, I know you can handle this just like you always do." Kyo paused for a few moments before posing a thoughtful question, "Joachim, is this really the way a manager should act? Come on, this is the last show before the tour is over. Then you can take a nice long vacation." Kyo smiled trying to reassure the panicky manager. Joachim took a few long breaths. That seemed to calm him down. "There's something I need you to do for me."

"What?"

"There's should be a man named Zali dropping by about an unloading job. Just give it to him, all right?"

"Why? It's almost done now."

"I know, just have your people stop where they are and leave the rest, okay?" Joachim nodded with a raised eyebrow. He could tell this was another of Kyo's little charity projects. Joachim would go along with it, like always, since it did help their image.

"So how much?" Kyo told him the amount. "WHAT! Are you . . . never mind. I'll do it," he grumbled reluctantly.

"Thanks." With the business out of the way Kyo started to leave the station, but her manager stopped her before she got far.

"Kyo, I don't want you taking off after this tour is over with. You always vanish once we finish a tour and only God knows where you are." Kyo whipped around and gave Joachim a look that made his blood run cold.

"And it's going to stay that way! You _ever_ try to confine me or follow me and I'll vanish for good! Got it? You don't own me. I'll come back when I feel like it. That's the agreement we started this whole business on in the first place."

"Fine, you win," Joachim sighed dropping his head in defeat. Kyo was the only reason they made money. If she left, so did their success. He always gave into her demands in the end because he really did believe that she could disappear for good.

"All right, what's bothering you? You're acting weird . . . and I mean more so than usual. You've never had too much of a problem with the arrangement before, so why now?" Kyo crossed her arms, drumming her right hand's fingers against her left biceps.

"It's just that you're passing up a big opportunity to further your career when you take these extended furloughs. And besides . . ."

"Are you upset because I still haven't told you whether or not I want to do that private concert for that noble . . . what's his name?"

"Darcia the second, and yes," Joachim gave Kyo a very serious stare. "What if one of the nobles gets angry because you snub them, huh? What'll we do then? What if we get arrested or worse?"

"You worry too much. He didn't specify exactly _when_ he wanted a reply. Besides, I flat out refused to perform for Orkham, and we're still in one piece."

"Don't remind me," Joachim moaned massaging his temples.

"Personally, I don't give a damn about what the nobles think. Who cares if they get upset? If they're mad with me, it's not like I give a crap," Kyo said over her shoulder waiving a hand as she walked off.

Kyo finally left the station, but as she came out the main doors something caught her attention. It was a dog with blue eyes and grayish-blue fur. Holding the dog's leash was an older man wearing a trench coat. Next to him stood another, younger man dressed rather nicely who happened to be fidgeting with a strange device. There was something about the dog's scent that drew Kyo's attention. It was faint, but the scent definitely set off a ringing sensation in her brain that cried out 'wolf'.

"Damn it. I hate technology," Hubb whined in frustration as he tried desperately to understand what the compass, that Cher had left behind, was telling him.

"What's the matter, Detective Dandy?" Quent laughed. "That little box too much for you to handle?" Quent continued a hearty chuckle while Hubb gave the old man a perturbed stare.

"I don't know what's wrong with it. I think the readings say that there's a signal in this town, but then there's another signal coming from the west. I don't get it. That flower can't be in two places at once, and I don't think that there is more than one." As Hubb finished voicing his confusion, the two men were surprised by the voice of a stranger.

"My that's a nice canine you have there," Kyo greeted the men as she sauntered over to them. As Kyo got nearer to them, Blue's head perked up as she started sniffing the air. Blue padded next to this person that was new to her and continued sniffing. "Oh, well aren't you friendly," Kyo cooed crouching down to pet the 'canine' as she called Blue. "What's the name?"

"Huh," Quent grunted finally taking notice of this strange girl with a peculiar interest in Blue. "Blue," he replied staring at the young woman.

"Actually, I had meant your names, but that answers my next question," she chuckled. "My name is Kyo, and yours?"

"Quent," the old hunter answered gruffly.

"Hubb Lebowsky," the detective introduced himself. He offered his hand to shake hers, but just then Hubb's allergies started a sneezing fit. "Sorry about that."

"No, I think it's my fault. Allergies, right?" Hubb nodded. "I think my perfume's the culprit. So, what are two strapping men such as yourselves doing way out here?"

"I guess you could say that we're looking for something." Hubb was starting to blush a little at Kyo's comment.

"Really, I'd say it looks more like you're hunting something. Especially since you've got a wolf hound with you."

"She's a dog!" the hunter sounded really agitated. "And what would you know about wolves?" Quent stared at her.

"Sorry, but you can't deny that she's got some wolf in her. Trust me, I have spent a lot of time around uh . . . canines," Kyo awkwardly recovered, realizing that she almost said wolves. Quent was eyeing the girl suspiciously by now. There was something strange about her. She couldn't be a wolf, otherwise Blue would have sensed it. Perhaps, she was hiding wolves. This thought really sparked the hunter's interest, but he didn't have much time to continue thinking about it before something of a far greater priority grabbed his attention. A howl pierced the ambiance of the city.

"Blue!" Quent shouted. Blue immediately responded to the one word command. She ran towards the source of the sound leading her master to what promised to be a wolf. As Quent and Blue peeled out of the area Hubb followed after them, hot on their heels. Kyo was left by herself for a moment as she considered what to do.

_Hmm . . . all right Kyo, do I want to go back to the station and listen to that worrywart Joachim, or do I want to follow two strange men, that I've never seen before, into unknown parts of a city that I've never been to before,_ she thought to herself. "Duh!" she said giving herself a little bop on the head as she dashed off after the trio easily catching up. "Hey, what's your friend up to anyway?" she asked Hubb as they continued running.

"Oh, he's on some sort of crazy quest, hunting wolves," Hubb answered in a haphazard way.

"Why? What did wolves ever do to him?"

"Huh, I don't know. Guess it never came up."

"Well regardless, I think that's terrible!"

Hubb and Kyo heard Quent give a shout, "Got you now, you damn wolf!" They followed the old hunter into a dead-end back alley. Blue stood before him, her fangs barred and body poised for attack. Quent had his rifle leveled at the wolf, but he hesitated. He recognized this _kind_ of wolf. Quent had only encountered it once before, but he would never forget it. This wolf was far larger than any wolf should be, just like the one back in the last city he had come from.

"What the hell is that?" Kyo gasped. "That is NOT a wolf." Her eyes were wide with fear. She felt a hand grab her arm. It was Hubb.

"Go on, get out of here," he whispered trying to push Kyo back. She turned around and would have started running, but their escape route was blocked. Two men dressed like soldiers cut off the way the group had come from. They wore helmets with visors that covered the upper portions of their faces. Quite strangely, though, neither soldier carried a gun or any other sort of weapon.

"Hey, is that one of the priority targets?" one of the soldiers asked.

"No, she's a secondary," the second replied.

"Is that wolf one of the secondaries that was accompanying the primary targets?"

"Negative, we'll still proceed with the elimination anyway."

"What about the humans?"

"Terminate them, as well."

"Are we going to let the wolf hybrid take care of them?"

"Nah, we can do that ourselves. The primary targets are still in the city. We'll just set the hybrid back out on the loose again 'til it finds something," as the soldiers finished their banter the first shouted at the hybrid to get going. The oversized wolf at the back of the alley responded to the command instantly. It cleared the entire group with a single leap and then raced off to find its next victim. The soldiers removed their helmets and one laughed, "Let's have a little fun and make them scream before they die." It was then that their black and yellow eyes became visible.

"What the hell? Are you humans or wolves?" Quent demanded as he pointed his rifle at them.

"A little bit of both you could say. We're what you would call human hybrids. Humans with just a bit of wolf added to the mix. It comes with a lot of benefits, but there is one down side. Sometimes I get this urge for blood. It's probably from the wolf instinct, but it isn't often that I get the chance to satisfy that impulse. The best thing about human prey is the way they beg for their worthless lives just as you start sinking your teeth into them. It's really quite a rush."

Everyone's faces hardened at this soldier's perverse taste in pleasures. Neither of the two men noticed, but Kyo's body was taut and ready to strike. Her hands were tensed with each finger spread apart from the others and bent slightly, just like claws. Quent, not one for waiting to be attacked, fired his rifle aiming for the hybrid's head. The bullet missed . . . They hybrid vaulted forward intent on killing the old man. Blue was already moving, but she wouldn't get around her master in time to save him.

"No you don't!" Kyo yelled as she swiped at the hybrid. She had aimed for his face, but missed and instead adjusted to dig into his torso with her nails. The hybrid spun on his heels stopping just short of Quent. He turned to stare a Kyo while he held his side.

"YOU B--" he shouted, but never got to finish. A bullet silenced him forever. Quent had fired his rifle again at point blank range right into the hybrid's chest. The remaining hybrid snarled barring fangs way too long to be human. However, he never got a chance to use them. A pair of jaws clamped around the sides of hybrid's neck as he fell forward from the weight of a wolf pouncing on him. The wolf was black with a white chest and underbelly.

"Kage!" Kyo cried out of glee. Kage shifted to his human form, while still standing on the hybrid's back. Then, in a fluid motion, drew his right pistol and fired, making sure the hybrid was dead.

"Come on, we can't let that other one get away," Kage called to Kyo. Together the pair raced off after the wolf hybrid that had left earlier.

Hubb and Quent were left somewhat awestruck. Quent looked down and noticed long claw marks in the dead hybrid's torso. There were five of them each one at least an inch deep. Hubb finally caught sight of the claw marks.

"That girl, she did that? But no human could have made those," Hubb pondered with mounting anxiety.

_If that girl isn't a wolf, then what is she? Definitely not human at least,_ Quent mused to himself. He was startled out of his reverie as Blue took off after the hybrid. "Blue! Come back!" he called to his faithful pet. However, she was already gone leaving a worried Quent and a dazed Hubb back in the alley.

Kage and Kyo had taken to the rooftops shortly after their departure from the alley. They were hot on the scent trail of the hybrid. It wouldn't be too long before they caught up to it. However, Kyo suddenly called out, "Kage wait a minute." The pair halted from their run. "This thing is too bulky." She shrugged out of her coat.

"Why did you even bother putting that ridiculous thing on in the first place?" Kage questioned, bemused with her annoyance.

"It's all about authenticity. You do have to at least make a credible attempt to fool humans. Yeah, they are pretty stupid, but they aren't complete idiots. Human don't do well in the cold without proper clothing, and so sometimes I have to add a few accessories to make the deception perfect." Kyo smiled as she finally got free of the coat revealing her outfit.

Kyo wore a black tank top with a crimson skirt. Over her top she wore an open velvet mini-jacket, the same crimson color as her skirt. The jacket fit snugly around her shoulders stopping just below her shoulder blades. The sleeves were short reaching only a quarter-way down towards her elbows. The tank top and jacket left her collarbone and midriff areas exposed. Kyo's skirt had a diagonal hem which hung down to her knee on the right side, but rose to her mid-thigh on the left side. She also wore a pair of black high heeled boots. The color scheme was complimented by the red nail polish on her long fingernails.

"I am a lady, after all. I do have an image to maintain."

Kage raised an eyebrow at her. "Let's get going already," he shook his head. The two resumed their pursuit of the abominable creature.

"Kage," Kyo spoke up again as they continued running. "Why didn't you want to at least talk to those other wolves? I don't get it. I mean, other than you, they're the only wolves we've met who know about that lord Dark person."

"Kyo, right now I don't give a damn. Besides you know about him."

"You're forgetting one thing, Kage. I'm not a wolf."

"I know, so why the hell are you even following me?"

"I've already told you. Wolves just fascinate me, and I've always liked your kind, even though it might not be natural for our species to get along."

"I swear, you're the strangest creature I've ever met."

"Stranger than a hybrid?"

"Much." Kyo broke into a fit of laughter at his reply. Kage couldn't hold out for much longer before joining her. It was rare that Kyo heard that wolf laugh, much less saw him smile. But she always found the effort to get him to do so worthwhile once she succeeded.

"Hey Kage, do you smell that?" Kyo asked while halting from their run suddenly becoming serious.

"Smell what?" Kage replied taking a good sniff at the air.

"I'll take you to it." Kyo darted off towards whatever it was that caught her attention. Finally, she leapt down from the rooftops and into an alley between two large brick buildings. Kage landed beside her moments later hearing her emit a gasp. He scanned the alley, quickly finding what startled Kyo. It was blood, and there was a lot of it. There was a trail on the ground and a smear on one of the walls with a large pool underneath.

"Must've been one hell of a fight," Kage pondered. "Looks like your talent paid off again."

"Yeah, lucky me," she said dryly. Kyo cautiously stepped over to the pool of blood and took in a few whiffs. "Kage . . . this smells like one of those other wolves from before."

"So . . . there's also scents here from several of the local wolves. They probably just had a fight."

"That's not what I wanted to show you. Don't you smell it?" Kage came to Kyo's side and tried to figure out what she was going on about.

"A hybrid," Kage realized. "It must have stopped by here out of curiosity, but . . ."

"But the scent of that hybrid is different than the one we're tracking."

"Two wolf hybrids, fine I'll take 'em."

"Kage, back in the other alley where you found me, one of those soldiers said something about looking for priority targets."

"You think Dark is sending his hybrids after those wolves from before?" Kage didn't really need her to confirm his notion.

"So then, these _things_ come from that Dark person? Is this what you do when you go off on your own? What the hell are these things, Kage!"

"Yes, yes, and they were wolves. Now they're nothing but mindless beast stripped of there free will."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this before?"

"You scared?"

"HELL YES!"

"That's why." Kyo shot Kage an irritated stare.

"Come on, I'll track the scent of those other wolves to wherever it was they went. I don't think we'll have to wait long for those things to show up," Kyo grimly explained.

"Fine. Lead the way."

"Let's keep it casual. You of all people should know just how dangerous a wounded wolf can be, right?" Kyo lead Kage out of the alley and back onto the street. There was quite a crowd making it rather easy for them to get lost among the faces. Kyo slowed her pace to come shoulder to shoulder with her bodyguard. Swiftly and silently she slipped her arm around his interlocking their arms at the elbow.

"What are you doing?" Kage demanded feeling rather awkward at being arm in arm with Kyo.

"Uh . . . making us look normal, duh. Besides, it's a big crowd and we could get separated. Waaait . . .," a smirk crossed her lips, "you didn't just have your mind in the gutter now, did you?"

"What the _hell_ are you talking about?" Kage raised his brow.

"You dirty hound," Kyo cackled to herself. Kage just shook his head and shrugged off the whole thing. After walking a good distance, Kyo's pace slowed, and she seemed to grow uncertain of just where she was leading them.

"Damn, I lost the scent. There's just too many humans to sift through, even for my nose."

"Don't worry about it," Kage said taking the lead.

"Huh?"

"_That_ scent, I've got it. Smelled it back in the alley."

"The lunar flower scent! You smell it!" Kyo grew quite excited at this prospect.

"It was faint, but it came from the blood we found," Kage explained. "We can follow the scent all the way to the wolves we're trying to find. So, now the question is what do we do once we find them?"

"What are you asking me for? They're your kind, so you should now how to talk with them," then Kyo's wry smirk came back, "or are you asking me for help?"

"You're a pain in my ass, you know that!"

"Sorry," she chuckled, "we'll figure something out, don't worry about it."

Eventually, the pair found themselves in a cemetery at the edge of the city. Kyo announced that she could detect the scent from before here. That confirmed it. They had found the wolves they were looking for, but now their next step had to be planned carefully. They didn't want to wind up fighting the pack that they were, in truth, trying to help. It was doubtful they were aware of the hybrids that were attempting to track them down at this very moment. Kage and Kyo scoured the cemetery looking for the wolves.

Meanwhile, Tsume, Toboe, and Hige were tending to their friends' injuries inside their shelter for the night. They had already fixed up Aibo, and now they were treating Kiba. Tsume and Hige had to hold Kiba down while Toboe applied several herbs he'd managed to dig up from outside.

"Hey Toboe, how did you know what plants to get anyway?" Hige asked while holding down Kiba's right side. Tsume was on the left, and they made sure Kiba didn't squirm around. The white wolf had been quite adamant that he was fine and didn't need them to fuss over him, especially when they had to strip him down, all except for his pants, to get at the wounds. The herbs Toboe pressed into the open flesh of Kiba's wounds had a bite to them, but eventually they dulled away the pain.

"Granny used to talk to me about them all the time. I think it was sort of a hobby for her. Growing plants . . . I mean." Toboe finished applying the herbs to Kiba's body, but still the russet wolf sulked.

"What's eatin' ya?" Hige asked Toboe, but the pup didn't answer.

"Hige, you can let go of him now," Tsume instructed.

The tan wolf looked down only then realizing that Kiba had succumbed to sleep. They decided to redress Kiba, carefully placing his shirt back on him, but balling his jacket instead as a pillow for his head. Hige grimaced when he looked at Kiba's face, finally understanding Toboe's distress. Kiba was messed up pretty badly. His dark brown hair was sweaty, bloody, matted, and several strands clung in clumps to the drying blood on his face. Kiba was a miserable sight to behold, but the worst part of it all was that they hadn't been able to find any water to wash the blood from Kiba's battered face.

Aibo had been maimed fairly badly, but Kiba had received injury with prejudice to the extreme. Though none of the others said anything out loud, they were going to make sure whoever was responsible for this would pay. Even the gentle natured Toboe shared this same sentiment with his older pack mates.

What really scared the trio was that Aibo was not healing as quickly as he normally would. They weren't sure what to make of it. For now, all they could do was hope and wait.

"Tsume," Toboe started a little hesitant because of the situation. Toboe wasn't quite sure how the gray wolf would react.

"Yeah," was all the reply Toboe received. He was actually relieved. That meant Tsume wouldn't be venting his frustrations on them.

"Shouldn't we try to find something to get Kiba cleaned up?" Tsume nodded.

"Why don't you and Hige go. I'll stay here with these two."

"You sure?" The two wolves' banter was disrupted by a shout from outside.

"Kage, they're here already!"

Tsume, Toboe, and Hige ran to the door of their shelter to find out what was going on. Immediately, they recognized the two people from earlier who had interrupted their encounter with Zali and his pack. The trio also recognized their third 'guest' or at least what kind of creature it was. A large hybrid, similar to the last one their pack had encountered, chased after the odd pair. The male, referred to as 'Kage', drew the creature's attention and alternately fired his two pistols while trying to get a bead on the hybrid. One good shot and he could bring it down. The female, named 'Kyo' as they remembered it, shouted out to the three wolves.

"Hey! Look there isn't time to explain now, but that thing is after you guys. You've all got to get out of here now."

"We can't!" Tsume gave an irritated answer.

"Why?" Kyo hissed back equally irritated.

"Two of our friends are really hurt, and they can't move!" Toboe explained.

"Shit," Kyo muttered. "Where are they?" The carmel-eyed boy pointed inside their dilapidated shelter. Kyo gave herself a little bop on the head thinking, _duh Kyo._ "All right, hey you, cutie, think you can give my friend over there a hand? " she asked pointing at Tsume.

Tsume stood there and just blinked with an expression of shock. However, this only lasted for about three seconds before switching to totally pissed off. "What the hell did you just call me!" he growled. "And why the hell should we trust you?"

"Uh, hello! We're here fighting to help you. Geeze, is he always this suspicious?" she asked no one in particular.

"Yup, all the time!" Hige answered with a snicker, and Toboe nodding in agreement. Tsume shot each of them a dirty scowl. "I'm Hige, nice to meet ya," he greeted Kyo.

"Let's save the pleasantries for later, okay?" she smiled. Kyo turned her attention back to her bodyguard. Kage, both pistols leveled at the creature, was at a stand off with the hybrid whom he'd backed into a corner formed by two adjacent buildings. For a brief instant, Kyo saw a shadow move. "Kage, above you!" she shouted a warning.

The black wolf just barely dodged the beast which came leaping down from the structure next to him. It was another hybrid, but this one was far more imposing. The head was a wolf's, but the body, except for the reverse jointed legs, possessed many human qualities, especially in the hands, claw-tipped fingers, arms, and torso. In fact, the beast was a good deal larger than any human. Kage seemed to falter once he caught sight of this particular hybrid. There was something about it that caused him to hesitate.

"Hey, think you can look after our friends for us while we're busy?" Hige asked Kyo as he charged for the hybrid.

"Will do!"

"Toboe, stay here!" Tsume ordered as he reluctantly 'followed after'--well, more like

'went to save' in his mind--Hige.

"He sure is somethin' else, huh?" Kyo thought out loud as she walked over to Toboe. "Um, Toboe wasn't it, sure you don't think we can move your friends out of here?"

"No, they're hurt too badly for that," Toboe explained shaking his head.

"You know what that means, right?" Toboe gave her his cutely confused look. "It means we're the decoys in case one of those," Kyo swallowed hard, "monsters decides to get opportunistic and pick off you friends in there." Now Toboe looked scared. "Don't worry about kid, I'll be right here with you," she bent down to his eye level and patted his head. Toboe usually resented the nicknames his packmates gave him, but . . . this lady seemed sincere enough.

"You . . . smell kind of nice like flowers," Toboe noticed as he seemed to relax a little.

"Well aren't you just precious!" Kyo cooed as she gave the pup's cheek a gentle pinch. "It's the perfume I wear. Personally, I think it's a rather acrid stench, but it does the job so I can't complain."

"What's it for?"

"Simple, it covers my scent. None of you wolves have been able to figure out just what I am, and honestly I like it that way. But that's another story."

Toboe's eye suddenly went wide, "Ah ah ah ah," he stuttered pointing behind Kyo. The smaller hybrid had managed to slip away from the others and was coming for the two of them. Kyo wasted no time in charging the creature. Toboe watched in shock as Kyo disappeared once she collided with the hybrid, and the two became a tumbling mass of fur, tooth, and claw. Finally, the foes broke apart. The hybrid lay on the ground, bearing five long claw marks across its muzzle, only momentarily stunned before running after Kyo whom had returned to her human form too quickly to for Toboe to notice what she was.

Toboe, dawning his russet furred wolf body, took off after Kyo and the hybrid thinking that she might need help. The only problem was that Toboe wasn't sure how he could help. It didn't take long for the beast to figure out that it was being followed. Immediately after spotting Toboe, the hybrid lost all interest in Kyo. It made an about face, lunging for the wolf pup. Kyo realized almost instantly that she wasn't being chased anymore. She saw the hybrid get closer and closer to Toboe who was just standing there stunned.

"Toboe, no! RUN!" she yelled hoping to snap him back to his senses.

Meanwhile Tsume, Hige, and the stranger, Kage, had their own work cut out for them. Not one to fear danger, Tsume, shedding his human appearance in an instant, leapt for the hybrid's throat. However, he came short and settled for sinking his jaws into the beast's shoulder right at the base of the neck. Hige didn't wait long before following Tsume's charge, but chose instead to attack the hybrid's legs biting deep into the flesh on the back of its left leg. The enormous hybrid howled in pain. The sound was so loud it actually startled the two wolves causing them to loose their grip. Tsume was flung several yards away with a backhanded swat, and Hige started run but still received a good kick to his gut which sent him airborne for ten feet before he came back down with a thud. The hybrid then lunged at Kage finally snapping the green-eyed youth out of his shock. The beast reached forward as it tried to disembowel Kage with its claws. At that moment, Kage leapt into a forward somersault actually leaping over the beast. He managed to dodge the brunt of the attack, but still received several deep slashes into his torso. While mid air he unloaded a volley of bullets into the hybrid's right shoulder. Again the creature resounded its howl of pain as the wounded arm fell limp. The hybrid turned baring its fangs at Kage.

"I see," Kage looked sympathetically at the creature, "your pain impulses aren't suppressed like the other hybrids . . . Dark, you bastard." By now Tsume and Hige were back on their feet and ready for another go at the hybrid. "Hey you two!" Kage called out to get their attention. "Look this isn't something I normally do, but . . . if you guys can hold him still for a little while, then I think I can bring him down." Kage cocked his pistols to show them what he meant. Hige and Tsume looked at one another as they considered Kage's proposal. Eventually they nodded to one another.

"Well, since you asked so nice . . ." Hige teased.

"I didn't ask," Kage snapped back.

"Fine, then go get someone else to help you," Tsume sneered.

"But it'll be your friends who die when this thing isn't stopped," Kage countered. Hige and Tsume, albeit grudgingly, gave no further argument. They dashed for the hybrid's legs clamping into its hamstrings, just as Hige had done before. Kage sprinted for the back of the hybrid, but just as he made it to the creature's side; the hybrid threw the two wolves off with a powerful single armed swipe sending Tsume and Hige crashing into Kage. The hybrid loomed over the trio, Tsume and Hige in their wolf forms on top of Kage in his human form.

Then suddenly the hybrid doubled over and its face winced in pain as the beast fell to its knees. There behind the creature was the very familiar white wolf form of their leader. Kiba had pulled the creature's own leg out from under it, and he still held the leg in his jaws by the ankle. The white wolf still hadn't recovered, and his body language spoke that loud and clear. Kiba's breathing was quick, heavy, and labored. His body still bore the deep wounds inflicted upon it, and he kept his weight off his right front leg curling it up off the ground. Tsume darted forward attacking the shoulder of the hybrid's good arm while Hige went for the other leg. All three of their combined efforts sent the creature to the ground.

Kage was on his feet soon after and had his gun pointed to the back of the hybrid's head right at the base of the skull. He hesitated almost like he didn't want to shoot the hybrid. Kage, at last, pulled the trigger. The hybrid's body convulsed sharply and then its struggling stopped. However, the bullet seemed to make little more than a flesh wound. Kiba, Tsume, and Hige finally released the hybrid from their grasp. Once they did so, the creature began to shrink in size until it returned to the normal shape and size of a wolf. The dying wolf lay there on its side. Kage knelt before the wolf, holstering both his pistols. The wolf looked up at Kage and smiled nuzzling his leg. Kage returned the gesture giving the wolf a few gentle strokes on its neck.

"So, your skull was given a greater the bone density. That way, you wouldn't die until after your N.S.S.U. is destroyed," Kage muttered.

"It's . . . all right. I'm not afraid to die. I'm glad, really. I'm finally free. It doesn't hurt . . . anymore . . . " the wolf spoke his final gratitude before breathing his last breath. Kage lowered his head letting out a long sorrowful sigh which bordered on a broken sob. The black and white wolf then suddenly stopped himself forcibly regaining his composure. He wouldn't let himself mourn, not until Dark was dead.

"Who was he?" Kiba finally asked while his two friends silently observed.

"My brother. He was the third born out of five. I was born a day earlier than the others, so it was like we had two eldest between the six of us," he reminisced. "I'm gonna set them all free . . . and this is the only way to get them out of Dark's reach." They eyes of the other three wolves widened at what Kage revealed to them. The opportunity to offer words of solace never came, however.

"Ahhhhh!" came a pained cry which ended in a yelp.

"Toboe!" Kiba, Tsume, and Hige said in unison. They raced off to find their companion, and, not too long after, the three wolves found themselves joined by the black and white wolf.

"I guess you have a sense of gratitude after all," Hige cajoled Kage.

"There's still one more hybrid left, idiot. I'm going to kill it!"

Hige only gave an undignified, "Hmph!" in reply.

The quartet made their way to Toboe in no time. They found the russet wolf being shaken like a rag doll as the hybrid held an iron grip on the pup's left shoulder. Toboe tried to stay on his feet, but every time he managed to get his footing the hybrid shook him harder. Toboe couldn't even reach around to bite his opponent. The beast's jaws were clamped tight onto his flesh and its teeth sank in deep. It was possibly the most painful thing Toboe had ever experienced, but despite his dire situation, he wasn't going get hysterical. Toboe had called for help and knew it was coming. For now, he would do his best to be as brave as he was able. Toboe wasn't going to let himself cry, scream, or whine. After what seemed like a terrifying eternity, Toboe caught sight of the other wolves and took heart.

Tsume and Hige were first to leap into the fray, each biting into the beast's shoulders giving it a taste of its own medicine. The pair kept fighting taking turns snapping and clawing at the hybrid covering each other's backs as they attacked and retreated.

Kiba stopped next to Toboe, "Are you all right?" Kiba asked huffing deep breaths while eyeing Toboe's wounded shoulder as the pup lay on the ground.

"Y-y-yeah, I'm all right," Toboe said shakily. Then he realized who he was talking to, "Kiba? Wait a minute, what are you doing up? You shouldn't be fighting."

"I'm fine, Toboe," Kiba insisted, but the weary wolf's own body--legs buckling and whole form trembling from sheer exhaustion--betrayed him and the strong front he tried putting up for the pup. Even Kage, who at the moment was breathing quite heavily, had taken a seat on the ground in his human form to rest, holding his hand over the wounds in his torso. The black wolf's once white shirt was now stained red, and Kiba's fur still retained its alteration to crimson.

"You both look like you're about to collapse!" Toboe countered.

"Fine, I guess I . . . could take it a little easier," Kiba was spent, consequently lacking the will to argue any further.

By this time, the hybrid was sick of dealing with the relatively healthy tan and gray wolves. Its directives told it to kill as many of the group as possible. At that moment, the hybrid decided it best to abandon the fight with these two wolves, especially when there were three wounded wolves who would be much easier to pick off. The creature, deciding to ignore Tsume and Hige, went to finish the job on Toboe. However, the pup's attention was still trained upon his injured friend. Toboe didn't even notice as the hybrid lunged for him. Kiba caught site of the beast as it was mid air. He moved to push Toboe out of the way, but something collided with the hybrid. Kyo had rammed into its side and they both went rolling. When the two finally stopped the hybrid latched a deathgrip onto Kyo right wrist.

"Damn you, let go!" she hissed clawing at the beast's eyes with her nails. The creature actually released her from its grasp, blinded by its own blood. Hige took advantage of its confused state grabbing it by the throat and forcing the hybrid to the ground. Kage joined Hige in an instant with pistol in hand. The black wolf fired a single shot into the back of the hybrid's head destroying the abominable creature.

"It's over," Kage panted holstering his pistol. "Now . . . who the hell are you people?" he demanded.

"We're the ones who should be asking that," Tsume growled.

"Shouldn't we save the introductions until after your friends aren't in danger of bleeding to death?" Kyo asked rhetorically. Tsume grunted and Kage smirked. "That includes you, too," she shot a glare at her bodyguard. Kyo sauntered over to Kiba and crouched down to his eye level. "I know somewhere we can get you fixed up, but . . . uh how do you feel about human doctors?" Kiba only stared at her, suspiciously. Toboe didn't seem to have a problem with the idea, but Tsume and Hige were a bit more skeptical.

"Just because you helped us out to save yourselves doesn't mean we have any reason to trust you," Tsume stated flatly. "After all, you're still hiding whatever-the-hell-you-are from us."

"Ugh, fine!" she groaned with all the sarcasm she could muster. Kyo paced off a little ways from the group and revealed herself for what she was. There upon a soft pillow of freshly fallen snow sat a very sleek form cloaked in glossy black, short length fur. The tail was long and sender while small pointed ears, tilted forward, rested atop the head. Gold eyes with pupils contracted into a slightly elliptical vertical slit stared back at the group with the strange sort of intensity that is unique to Kyo's kind. Her legs and paws were all neatly tucked beneath herself in a very feline position with claws retracted.

"A cat!" Tsume halfway barked in surprise and halfway out of fury at having had help from such a creature. Kyo stood on all fours at hearing this remark. She definitely stood shorter than a wolf, but her form was longer than a wolf's. Her build was for speed, maneuverability, and reflexive agility unlike a wolf's sturdy build which was for strength, endurance, and power. Kyo slinked side to side a few steps.

"You know, as a professional courtesy I never refer to wolves as 'dogs'," she spoke in a sly manner, "and I would appreciate it if you extended courtesy of the same kind. Puma, mountain lion, cougar, panther, or just plain feline; take your pick. There's plenty of names for you to call me by, but . . . call me a cat again, and you'll regret it. Besides, I'd rather not have to rearrange that cute face of yours." A low guttural growl resounded from Tsume, and Kyo gave a feline smirk. That's it. She had found his 'red button'. Tsume hated being called 'cute'. At first Kyo hadn't meant anything by it, but now she could use it to tease him once in a while. Though Kyo did have to admit that there were certain qualities Tsume possessed which did make him attractive--for a wolf anyway.

"Why would you want to help us?" Kiba asked her flatly.

"I like wolves. That's it. There really isn't anything else to it, so what's that big deal?"

"Uhh, it's just weird," Hige replied.

"Oh, yeah, we know whose got his mind in the gutter," Kyo countered retaking her human presence raising an eyebrow at Hige.

"What? Just what the hell are you trying to imply?"

"Nothing you already didn't say."

"Damn she's a pain in the ass," Hige grumbled.

"You don't know that half of it," Kage chuckled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the flustered feline eyed her bodyguard.

"Look, I don't intend to sit here and bleed to death while you idiots ramble on debating this crap. How 'bout you?" the black and white wolf directed the question to Kiba and Toboe. Both wolves just nodded slightly, "Now let's get moving!" Kage's little outburst actually seemed to settle the matter which made it all the more strange. However, Tsume and Hige were smart enough to know when to choose their battles.

"It'll be easier to get all three of you treated quickly if I check you in to the doctor under the pretense of being canines," Kyo explained.

"So, you're just gonna have them pretend to be dogs?" Tsume scowled.

"Tell me, at what point did I say 'dog'? If anyone is smart enough ask flat out: 'Are they wolves?' then I'll tell them yes. It's as simple as that." All eyes were on her now and everyone was looking at Kyo like she had just lost her mind. She started to laugh to herself, "And you know what, that's the same look they'll give me while they say 'you're cracked because wolves have been extinct for two hundred years'."

"Fine, I guess you're not as stupid as you look," Tsume grunted hardly satisfied with Kyo half-baked plan. However, her countenance dropped all joviality assuming a wearied and saddened expression at Tsume's remark.

"Whatever, let's just go already," she sighed softly marching off quickly away from the group. An awkward silence remained as the others followed suit.

"Hang on a sec. I'll get Aibo," Kiba remarked excusing himself from the group. The white wolf returned to his human self knowing it would be less conspicuous around the city. However, Kiba found Aibo awake inside their decrepit shelter. The boy, back turned towards Kiba, was inspecting himself looking over all the wounds he had accumulated. "Aibo," Kiba called softly.

"This is all your fault," came the child's voice cold and reverberating. Aibo turned about-face; his eyes were crimson and pink once again. Kiba instantly remembered who this was--Aibo's guardian. This entity had attacked him once before, so Kiba knew to be cautious since Aibo was not himself while the guardian was in control.

"You again," Kiba replied.

"You know, I'm not sure which hurt the child more: the fright from seeing you lash out at him like he was your enemy, the beating he suffered from those thugs, or the thought that he couldn't call to you for help even as they started tearing into him," the guardian slowly elaborated with a smug tone deliberately taunting Kiba in a sadistic manner. "I was there for it, you know. I'm always conscious . . . always watching over him, but you . . . you're completely inadequate! You're not fit to be his . . . his . . ." the guardian paused as if contemplating the consequences of what it was about to say. Then something clicked in Kiba's mind that set him off. He dashed over to the guardian grabbing it by Aibo's jacket and shirt collar. Kiba raised the boy to eye level and shook him.

"You knew what was going on! Then why didn't you help him! I know you have that power, so why?" Kiba shouted violently at Aibo's alter personification. For once, the entity didn't know what to say. Kiba had caught it completely off guard, and a look of horror and realization flashed across those crimson eyes--which reminded Kiba so much of Cheza. "Answer me, damn you!" the enraged Kiba growled through his teeth, shaking the boy once again.

But no answer came, instead the entity relinquished its hold over the boy's consciousness leaving Aibo, perhaps deliberately, staring into the face of a very angry Kiba. Kiba's expression immediately softened as he saw the child's eyes, through a messy veil of dark brown hair, return to their normal cobalt blue. Aibo made a squeak of fright, but the white wolf was quick to console the child. Kiba instantly shifted his hold on Aibo placing one arm underneath the boy's legs and the other arm around his back firmly planting his hand in the center between Aibo's shoulder blades. Kiba embraced the small child to himself allowing Aibo to rest his head against the juncture of his neck and shoulder.

"It's all right, you're safe now," Kiba reassured Aibo gently rubbing the boy's back. "I promised, I'm not going to let anything happen to you." With a slight tremble, Aibo breathed a soft warm sigh against Kiba's skin. The child nuzzled into Kiba's neck almost like the way a wolf pup would to its parent. "I don't know why, but you aren't healing well. I heard the others talk about it while you were sleeping. I want you to go back to sleep. I'll be right beside you the whole time so you can rest."

"Okay," Aibo whispered before slipping into slumber. Kiba carried the boy back outside and found Hige still waiting for him while the others had gone on ahead.

"Hige?"

"Oh hey, just waitin' up for ya," the tan wolf gave a nonchalant grin rubbing his nose with his index finger. "You know what, just go on ahead. There's something I wanna check out." With that Kiba left at a quick pace catching up with the group in no time.

Hige sniffed at the air a few more times. There was definitely the scent of another wolf around--and a female to boot! He was certain he had never smelled this scent before, but there was just something so familiar about it. It didn't take the tan wolf long to go sprinting off toward the direction from which the wind blew the scent. Hige found who he was looking for, receiving quite a shock once he found . . . _her_. He had seen her once before back in that city where this crazy quest began. She was that hunter's dog, Blue, as Hige recalled her name. _Blue . . ._ he thought. Hige took a step forward. There was something screaming in his head that he should know her from somewhere. Blue growled as Hige neared her, surprised by his sudden movement. Hige backed away ready to run off, but she let out something like a bark and yelp.

"Well make up your mind. Do you want me to go or stay?" he said in frustration throwing his arms out to the side. Blue sat down immediately in response to Hige's question. Hige shifted to his wolf form and slowly padded towards Blue. They took a few sniffs at one another, then Blue licked Hige right on the side of his muzzle. He jerked back in surprise, but didn't move any further than that. "Why do you seem so familiar?" Hige gave her a gentle nuzzled to the shoulder. Blue returned the gesture. _Okay, this is really weird. I only just met the girl and we're already halfway to making out. But it feels like this isn't the first time I've met her. I kind of feel more like we've been reunited after a long time, but that's just crazy . . . Or is it?_ Hige pondered the situation. Then the pair heard a shrill whistle pierce the serenity of their moment.

"Blue!" came a shout that called for her.

"Crap!" Hige squeaked as he realized that was the hunter's voice. The tan wolf started to run, but stopped in his tracks suddenly.

"H-h-hige!" a voice that he _knew,_ called out for him. He turned back and looked at Blue. She stood on all fours begging him stay with a soft whine. Was that her voice he had heard? Hige dashed away when he heard the hunter call out Blue's name again.

"There you are," Quent sighed with relief as he spotted his dog. "What the hell got into you? What're you doin' here anyway?" he patted her on the head. "Find some boy that sparked your interest?" he teased. Blue just looked up at him and tucked her ears back. She knew she just had to find him again. Hige, that was his name. Blue had never heard it before, but somehow it felt like she remembered it. But not even Blue was certain of just how she had spoken even for that brief instant. Still, she was going to do all she could to find him just one more time.

Back at the cemetery, someone was looming over the corpse of Kage's brother. The figure, robed in black, stooped down and began long languid strokes to the deceased creature's fur. Two other people soon stood not far behind the figure kneeling by the wolf. "Lios, why are we wasting time here, and what the heck is she doing?" an irritated young man looking about twenty years in age questioned his older companion--a man looking to be about thirty-five years in appearance.

"Why are you always so impatient, Tibris? You'll never learn anything if you don't get over that," the older man replied to the younger one.

"This one is merely collecting the soul of the fallen wolf," the kneeling figure answered.

"We should be going to finish off those wolves rather than sitting here indulging Shikyo's petty whims!" Tibris shouted in frustration. He wore an indigo long sleeved shirt and black pants with a violet stripe down each side of the pant legs. Lios, his garb being quite similar to Tibris', wore a black long sleeved shirt and tan pants with a crimson stripe down each pant leg. Their clothes were of a style and quality befitting those of the nobility's race.

"It doesn't really matter if we let them go. It all fits into brother Dark's plan. We just have to sit back and watch incase anything goes wrong. You done yet, Shikyo?" Lios questioned the flower maiden. Shikyo stood holding a slightly golden shimmering kernel in the palm of her hand. A seed casing then appeared around the kernel promptly absorbing itself into Shikyo's skin.

"This one is finished."

"Good, we'd best be getting along now."

"Finally, if we hurry we can catch those stupid wolves by surprise!" Tibris' voice carried his enthusiasm for the prospect of a fight.

Lios, however, shook his head, "Sorry, but the wolves have to wait for now. Our sisters require our assistance elsewhere. Those two are ready to spring their plan into action." Tibris crossed his arms and started to pout like a little kid. "Don't worry, you'll get your chance to test out your fangs in battle soon enough. So just save it for then, all right?"

"Fine," Tibris moaned in disappointment, "let's just go already."

Meanwhile, Hige was making a beeline towards the others following their scent trail after already having returned to his human guise. He finally came upon a small office building that reeked of wolf, and not just his friends' scents. Hige entered cautiously finding Tsume, Aibo, and Kyo waiting in a small lobby with several chairs that looked rather uncomfortable. The room was cramped, and there was no one at the front desk. Aibo slept in one of the chairs while Tsume and Kyo stood off to one side looking like they weren't having a very pleasant conversation.

"What the hell were you thinking bringing us to this place!" Tsume demanded pointedly.

"What are you talking about?" even with regard to--what she assumed to be--his usual mood, Kyo didn't quite get why Tsume was so especially pissed off at her.

Hige decided to explain, "This place stinks of those other wolves, and . . . they're the ones who're responsible for our friends being in the shape that they're in." Kyo's eyes went wide.

"What the hell? You mean Zali's pack is responsible for that? And they did that to a little kid?" she glanced over at Aibo. "You're sure it wasn't the hybrids from before?" Tsume grunted and Hige nodded with a kind, understanding expression.

"We're sure, we just haven't found the particular wolves that are responsible. By the way, where's Kiba and the runt?"

"Those two are in the back with Kage. I made them promise not to bite the vet before we walked in. Don't worry, I've brought Kage to her before. She doesn't ask questions. Oh, I'd be a little discreet going back there if I were you. Your friend Kiba, he's about to lean first hand what humans mean by the word 'bath', so just be considerate. I didn't have the heart to tell him, and the vet insisted. That reminds me, how did he get all those leaves matted into his fur?"

"Eh heh, well you see. . ." Hige chuckled uneasily, "let's just say that Toboe tried to help out as best he could."

"Why don't the both of you go back there and see how they're all doing? I'll stay here with the kid."

Tsume and Hige finally agreed and left the cat and the kid in waiting room. The two walked through a small space between the front desk and the wall leading into a hallway which took them to the back room. All in all, the office was rather small. But it was in nice shape and everything was well kept. The place felt clean, but not in an antiseptic way. Eventually the two wolves heard the sound of running water and a small yelp.

"Come on now, there's no need for that," came a woman's voice in a soothing tone. "Hey look, I didn't mean to surprise you like that. Sheesh, the way he acts you'd think he's never had a bath before in his life." Tsume and Hige came into a larger room and found Toboe and Kage sitting in in a corner on the right side of the room. They had already been bandaged up. Kage was trying to muffle his snickering while Toboe just watched the whole scene in utter amusement. That was when Tsume and Hige looked over to the left finding Kiba standing in a large square, tiled basin with a drain in the middle. Next to the basin was a woman with a shower nozzle in hand that had a long cord plugged into the wall just a few feet off the ground.

"You could say that," Tsume said breaking into a fit of laughter. Kiba was a priceless sight to behold. His white fur was sopping wet hanging straight down--even on his tail. His expression clearly read to the other wolves that he was completely pissed off. If Kiba could have had his way, the vet would have one less hand by now. He wasn't so angry about being wet as he was about having to go through this embarrassment with the others watching. Kiba did have his pride after all.

"So, I take it that you two are the owners?" the vet turned to address Tsume and Hige.

"Um you could sort of say that," Hige answered scratching his nose.

"Well, I should report you for neglect if that's the case, but considering the other circumstances I guess I can let you off with a warning."

"Other circumstances?" Tsume questioned. The vet reached for a bottle of shampoo and set it down next to herself before giving Kiba another rinse to clean out the rest of the plant debris from Toboe's healing herbs. The shampoo would be for the dirt and blood stains in his fur.

"Don't be modest, not everyone would stop and help some stranger that was being mugged, especially when the muggers had dogs with them. But then, I guess this fella here did his fair share of the work too. So what's the big boy's name?" she continued the banter while pouring some of the thick liquid into her hand and then working it into a lather in Kiba's fur.

"His name's Kiba," Hige replied.

"Kiba huh, nice name."

She worked along all of his back and then moved to scrubbing his underside. Then the vet lathered up Kiba's legs and then gave his tail a gentle washing. Honestly, Kiba did have to admit that this 'bath' thing wasn't as bad as he had thought, at first. The vet's touch was actually kind of soft and felt pleasant. She didn't have long nails to scratch him and the gentle rubbing had a nice soothing effect on his aching muscles. He really hadn't had much time to rest and this light massage was a welcome experience. The shampoo, as she called it, also left his skin with a nice feeling that he found hard to describe with words in his mind. Kiba started to relax and even enjoy his bath gradually closing his eyes.

Next he felt the human woman's hands working on and around his neck. The vet kept the washing brisk but gentle, so Kiba let her continue without protest. Although, Kiba did have to fight his urge to growl at her. After all, she was only a human and didn't pose any real threat just from touching his neck, even though it was an intimate area for him--and really all wolves. Finally, the vet made her way to his head. She washed the underside of his muzzle and then just held him there for a moment petting Kiba.

"You know what Kiba," she said getting him to open his eyes and look into hers. The human woman's eyes were a soft green framed by her short light brown hair, "you're beautiful, don't go getting yourself messed up like this again!" she ordered. Then the vet moved on to the bridge of his nose and top of his head. She also washed up the sides of his face and his ears.

Now done with the washing at long last, the vet took the shower nozzle and tested the water's warmth on her wrist. Once satisfied, she turned the water onto Kiba and gently worked the soapy lather out of his fur being careful not to spray him in the eyes while rising his face. After that she pulled out a soft towel and dried every last inch of the white wolf. Kiba gave her a quick lick on the cheek while no one was looking. For a human, she wasn't too bad, and besides Kiba wasn't an ingrate. This human really had done something nice for him so he felt obligated to show form of gratitude. She smiled and laughed, "You're welcome."

"You done yet? Sure have been taking your sweet time," Tsume grumbled. The gray wolf had gotten bored with the whole bath thing about five minutes into it.

"I still need to apply some antiseptic and astringent," the vet answered absentmindedly as she continued her work grabbing the aforementioned supplies. With a puff of gauze, the vet dabbed Kiba's wounds with the medicines. "I honestly don't understand why you're so impatient. You wouldn't want him to scar would you? That would ruin your gorgeous looks wouldn't it, boy?" the vet smiled again and gave Kiba a few strokes on the back of his neck.

_Sheesh, she sure does touch me a lot. Quit pawing me already!_ Kiba thought in annoyance. _At least she hasn't patted me on the head like I'm some dog._

"There, finished," she announced. "All right boys, you're free to go. Kyo already took care of the cost, and I still have to clean up back here." The three in their wolven forms responded to this, immediately heading for the lobby.

"Hey Kiba, where are you off to in such a hurry? Don't you wanna stay with your new girlfriend a bit?" Hige teased the white wolf.

"Shut the hell up, Hige," Kiba shot the tan wolf a cold deadly gaze while snarling his lip up to bear his fangs. Hige seemed to have crossed a line because Kiba didn't usually get that upset. The white wolf stormed out of the back and into the lobby. He found Aibo sleeping in a chair, but Kyo was nowhere to be seen. The others soon joined Kiba in the lobby.

"You probably shouldn't go around like that outside of this building," Kage suggested, both he and Toboe having already returned to their human appearances.

"Fine," Kiba agreed, now back to his human form, as well, while he picked up the sleeping child.

Meanwhile, Kyo was outside attending to business. Zali had come looking and found her inside the vet's office. It was under her suggestion that they ventured outside and away from the office for a more private setting.

"Well, I take it that you didn't go through all the trouble of tracking me down just to say 'hello'. So then, what's on your mind?" Kyo struck up a casual banter.

"We're not going to accept your charity," the proud stubborn wolf flatly stated.

"Good, because I'm not giving it," she returned catching Zali by surprise. "You wolves and your damn pride, sheesh." Zali stepped back shocked. "What? I know a wolf when I see one. Doesn't matter what body they use."

"I see, that still doesn't change that fact that we're not accepting help from some human."

"I don't see your point. I take it that you've already been down to the station, right?" Zali only gave a curt nod. "Well then, what's the problem. Joachim always pays the help in advance," Kyo began casually glancing her eyes over her long nails. "If you don't like the job then you should have said something before you were paid. That's why you're here isn't it? You wanted to return the money?" She turned her gaze to the wolf, and Zali nodded again. "Well too bad. You accepted the job once you took payment, and that's the end of it. I hired you and your team to do a real job and real work. If you've got a problem with that then I'm sure I can always go to the police."

"What the hell kind of game are you trying play?" Zali face grew stern.

"I'm not playing any game. I'm not here to question you're pack's way of life, the way you run things, or to have pity on you all. Just because you're wolves doesn't mean you are going to get special treatment from me. I'm just a client that needs a job done, nothing more, and I expect that job to be done with early tomorrow morning. After that, I want to talk to you about another job. Our security team is a little stretched, so we need some additional man power to make sure there's no trouble at the concert. Bring anyone from your pack who's interested. Just make sure you can keep them in line."

"Just a client with a job, huh? Fine, we'll see about that," Zali actually seemed satisfied with Kyo's reasons.

_Bought it hook, line, and sinker_, Kyo thought to herself with an inward smirk of satisfaction. She knew Zali's type well, the kind that have to preserve their ethic--their honor and pride--above all else.

At that moment Kiba and the others finally located Kyo and her 'guest'. There was a round of uneasy stares from everyone at Zali's presence. Hige, Toboe, and Tsume had half a mind to jump him right there and make him pay for what his pack had done. Tsume would normally be the first one rash enough to follow through with that impulse at this moment, however, he decided to keep his cool, if for nothing else, to wait until Zali was most vulnerable.

"All done I see, that's good," Kyo greeted the group.

"Why is he here?" Hige demanded, asking the question both Tsume and Toboe also wanted to shout out.

"And what's his problem?" Zali asked not really caring. The other's were about to tell Zali exactly what their problem was, but Kyo intervened before the situation could escalate.

"You see the boy?" Zali, his stern face still in place masking whatever he might be thinking, looked at Aibo. "Some of your wolves did this."

"I have to go now," Zali said anger seething in his voice.

"Hold it you, we wanna know who the hell is the bastard that did this!" Tsume pressed.

"You stay out of this!" Zali snarled. "They're my pack!" The scared wolf stormed off to the inner parts of the city.

"That went well," Kyo said dryly. "You boys hungry?" Hige's stomach gave an almost gleeful grumble at the mention of food. "Kage, will you show them the way?"

"Fine," came the black clad boy's succinct reply.

"I'll see you all there," Kyo waved as she walked off.

"What was that all about?" Hige inquired.

"You'll see soon enough," was all the explanation Kage offered. The black and white wolf started off in the same direction as Kyo, but turned down a side street. "You coming?" he called out stopping just before turning the corner.

"You think we can trust them?" Hige shot the question to Kiba.

"Yeah, if they were going to try something they would have done it by now," Kiba reasoned.

"Well, it's not like we have much of a choice since we've already gotten involved this far," Tsume muttered. The group finally chose to follow after Kage wherever he was leading them.

"Hey Tsume," Toboe finally piped up whispering to the gray wolf, "I don't get it. Why did you change your mind?"

"Hmph, it's just like I already said," Tsume brushed Toboe off.

"Come on Tsume, you can tell me," Toboe persisted not content to be shut out. Tsume sighed.

"You really shouldn't have to ask that, if you know me at all, that is," Tsume explained. It wasn't going to do him any good trying to play his tough guy routine with the pup.

"You don't like to trust people because it has something to do with your scar, right?" Toboe guessed. Tsume gave him a surprised looked.

"What would you know about that?"

"I think you told me about it once. Though I'm not sure exactly what you said. Remember?"

"No."

"It was after I . . . died," Toboe drifted off into thought as he said that last word. He blinked in confusion for a while still trying to figure out why he knew something he shouldn't even if it was just a fragment.

"I still don't get why you tried to save that damn human hunter," Tsume growled in frustration to himself.

"I did what?"

"That's why you died. You tried to save that human whose been hunting us."

"But how did you know that when I didn't even remember, Tsume?"

"I don't like this one bit."

"Why? I think it's kind of neat remembering things about each other from our last life," Toboe smiled beaming his ever gleeful state of mind.

"The past is just that. And that's the why it should be left behind," Tsume grumbled.

"But if that's how it's supposed to be, then we wouldn't be friends," Toboe pouted a little.

"You think too much, runt," Tsume gave Toboe a pat on the back. Toboe winced as Tsume hit his injured shoulder. "Oh," Tsume looked away, "sorry."

"It's all right," Toboe said rubbing his shoulder.

"So, how is it?"

"It's better, really."

"We're here," Kage informed the group.

"Where's here?" Tsume inquired.

"You'll see," was all the answer Kage would give. The pack stood in front of a large building possessing at least seven stories. Except for its grand outward appearance it really didn't seem too out of place with the surrounding buildings. The lobby's front wall was simply one giant window with five sets of sliding glass doors. There was a large flow of people coming and going in and out of the building some taking to the sidewalks and others standing along the street curb trying to catch a taxi from among the busy traffic. This section of the town seemed livelier than the rest for some reason. "Follow me," Kage instructed as he lead the pack through the right most set of sliding doors.

"Hey, there's Kyo!" Toboe announced his discovery once they were inside the building. He had spotted their feline companion in the middle of a large crowd of people. The others glanced over to at least humor the pup. Kyo didn't look particularly happy as she continued to talk with various people in the crowd. She was back in the red velvet overcoat she had worn earlier. Kage figured she must have gone back for it. "Who's that with her?" Toboe asked Kage having moved next to his side. Toboe had referred to a man in a black business suit immediately on Kyo's right.

"Joachim, his bark's worse than his bite. Kyo keeps him in line. Still, it's best that you don't let him see you."

"Why do they keep flashing those lights at them?"

"It's not important. Now come on," Kage directed. He lead them to a back wall at the right most end of the lobby and opened the door to the stairwell. "This'll be less conspicuous than using the elevator."

"Are we seriously gonna have to climb all those?" Hige moaned.

"Seventh floor is our stop," Kage replied. "Take the hard way if you want," with that Kage leapt up the first flight of stairs, turned on his heels, jumped again--this time to his left, and cleared another flight of stairs.

"Oh," Hige said in kind of a 'duh' way. The other wolves followed suit eventually reaching the top without much difficulty. Even Kiba was able to make it with relative ease despite having to carry Aibo the whole way. Finally at the top, Kage opened the door to the seventh floor. It was a single hallway with the stairwell being all the way at the right end of the hall. There was a trail of red carpet, centered in the middle of the polished wooden floor, spanning the length of the hall.

"The whole floor has been rented out, so there won't be any on lookers," Kage explained.

"Huh, what's that?" Toboe asked as he inched closer to a tall table against the wall before the group. The table was decorated with several potted plants, and amidst those rested an almost statue-like feline form. Toboe crept closer until his nose was just barely an inch away from the cat. It was so still the wolf couldn't tell if cat was real or not.

"BOO!" The cat's azure blue eyes snapped open with its head springing forward.

"AHHHH!" Toboe screamed falling over backwards. Everyone, even Kiba, shared a laugh at poor Toboe's expense. The pup groaned in complaint. "Cats always creep me out," he tried mustering some self-defense to save what little dignity he had in the pack. Toboe sulked when no one bought his excuse. Then Toboe felt a strong hand grab the center back of his shirt, and the russet wolf was lifted to his feet by a very strong arm.

"Toboe, that's enough," Tsume instructed letting go of his friend's shirt.

"So, now even the stray is bringing in strays, hmmm?" came the sleepy drawl of the lazy female cat with a cream colored coat and brown feet and ears. "Well, it's not like I really care."

"Isabelle," Kage introduced the cat.

"Joachim hardly ever goes past Kyo's suite. She's the only reason he comes up here. Her room is in the middle of the floor in front of the elevator. Joachim should stay away from the spare room at the left end of the hall. That is what you're up here for, right?"

"Thanks."

"If you want to thank me, talk Kyo into buying me one of those terry cloth bathrobes from this hotel. Those things are simply heaven to sleep on. Speaking of which," the cat yawned, "I've got to get back to my nap."

As the wolves entered the room, they were all shocked by what they found. It was more like a full sized apartment that a single spare room. They were currently standing in a large living room with a kitchenette space to the right of the door. There were three bedrooms--one on each side of the living room. The smaller bedroom was directly across from the apartment's entrance, and the two larger bedrooms faced one another from the other two walls. In the living room there was a nice brown cashmere sofa longer that a person's height with large comfortable looking cushions and a small coffee table in front. Now the only matter was to divide up the rooms. Who was going to sleep where? Kage took charge of this matter before anyone had time to start an argument.

"You two with baby-sitting get the large rooms," he delegated looking at Tsume and Kiba. "You're on the couch," Kage glared at Hige with a look that left no room for debate, "and you're dead if you wake me up." With that Kage disappeared behind the door of the smaller bedroom.

"Who the hell made him the boss?" Hige shouted in defiance. However, the others were already gone inside their own rooms leaving Hige all by himself. Kiba, with Aibo, had taken the room on the right while Tsume and Toboe went to the one on the left. For a moment, the tan wolf actually considered raising hell, out of revenge, for his friends ditching him like this, but once he actually hit the sofa he changed his mind. The cushions were feather soft contouring to his body gladly reciprocating the warmth of his body heat. "Ah, I guess this isn't _so_ bad," Hige sighed as he snuggled into the sofa and slipped off to sleep.

Toboe, having already kicked off his shoes and socks, sandwiched himself in the bed under the thick comforter and peema cotton sheets. However, Tsume would be damned if he was going to sleep on the floor. The gray wolf had half a mind to shove Toboe off the side of the bed. Just because Tsume liked the runt didn't mean he had to put up with Toboe being a brat. That thought kind of rung inside Tsume's head. He had never really admitted to himself that he liked someone else, especially not casually.

It felt good the gray wolf decided. Tsume really had let down his barriers and defenses as far as Toboe was concerned. The pup had unlocked that protective shell Tsume had always kept around his heart. He felt a strange sense of peace overtake him. It was so relaxing. Toboe had earned Tsume's trust without even realizing it. Tsume kicked off his boots, peeled out of his leather jacket, yet still keeping his sleeveless undershirt on, and then slipped into bed. Toboe was lying on his side with his back to Tsume. The gray wolf while lying face up looked over to his side and stared at Toboe's back. Toboe could feel Tsume's eyes on him.

"Looking for the bullet hole that should be there?" Toboe's voice was a bit shaky. "I was looking for it myself, too. That, and I peeked looking for the wounds that should be on you. I saw him . . . it . . . that black wolf that killed you . . ." Toboe's voice trailed off. Tsume reached over rubbing Toboe's back trying to comfort him.

"Go to sleep runt, I'll watch out for you," Tsume reassured the russet wolf with apparent fondness in his voice.

"Thanks," Toboe whispered. The two were soon asleep while images of what Paradise promised to hold gave them rest.

Kiba remained the only one awake, still worried over Aibo's condition. After removing the boy's jacket, he slipped the child into the bed's sheets and then sat down in a nearby chair. Kiba found the books and dagger Aibo had squirreled away inside the jacket's inner pockets. There it was--the book Aibo had first told them about, the Chronicle of the Companions. Not really sure of what he was doing, Kiba flipped through the book's pages. It occurred to him that there might be some answer for what was wrong with the small boy. However, Kiba found the pictures and scribbled texts to be of absolutely no use. In frustration, he slammed the book shut and threw it to the floor shouting, "Why the hell won't you tell me what's wrong with him?"

The book made a thud that echoed through the outside hall. Strangely though, the book landed on its spine, both covers pointing straight into the air. Then it fell open to an almost preselected page towards the back of the book. The original images upon those pages faded away as new lettering inscribed itself upon the pages in a gently shimmering white light. The book almost seemed to be responding to the command in Kiba's outburst. The white wolf took the book in hand and gazed over the lettering. The symbols, though thoroughly foreign to anything he had ever seen before, made perfect sense as they unveiled their meaning to the wolf. Kiba began to read the text aloud to no one in particular.

"Companions beware . . ." he paused for a moment before resuming, "never incite or give provocation for the anger of our beloved masters. A poison, deadlier that any the Mother Keeper of the earth can fathom, is to be found in the malice of a wolf. Take care not to bring upon thyself the ill will of any wolf lest thine only salvation be thee collective sum of thine pack. . ." Kiba stopped and thought for a moment. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" but the book failed to provide an answer this time.

"Hey, something wrong?" a voice caught Kiba by surprise. His eyes snapped over to the door. It was Hige rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Oh, guess I woke you," Kiba fumbled for something to say.

"Duh, so . . . what's up?"

"Nothing, I'll figure it out later." Kiba then just stared at Hige.

"Kiba, you're acting funny. What's on your mind? And why are you looking at me that way?" Kiba's face held a kind of sad and concerned expression.

"Hey Hige, you know . . . you don't have to wear that as a reminder," Kiba referred to Hige's collar.

"Oh . . . heh, heh . . . shit. So, you remember that too, huh?" Hige tried to laugh it off, but his face fell into an uncharacteristically depressed look. "Ki-kiba . . ." Hige shut his eyes tight and dropped his head to the side in shame. "I'm . . . I can't say . . . how sorry I am . . . for, well . . ." he swallowed hard, "betraying you . . . and the others." Hige felt a hand on his shoulder just then. He glanced at the hand and then to its owner. Kiba was staring Hige right in the eyes. The white wolf's eyes, holding no emotion, conveyed the iron will of their pack leader.

"Don't be," the way it came from Kiba, those words were as much an order as they were solace and encouragement. "I already told you that no matter what you do to me or us, I would never think of it as betrayal." Then Kiba's face softened, "And like I said before: When I think you're trying to kill me, then we'll fight." Hige smiled at the humor--or what was considered humor in Kiba's case--in his friend's eyes. Kiba let go of Hige's shoulder and looked blankly out into the night through the large window spanning the whole wall to his right. "But even then . . . I wouldn't want to see you killed . . . or any of the others . . . again."

"Kiba . . ." Hige gasped slightly, "you mean you know that about me and Tsume and Toboe?"

"Yeah," the other answered wearily.

"How long have you kept this bottled up?" Hige halfway scolded his friend.

"How long did you keep it bottled up--that Jagara made you into her puppet? How long were you afraid that we'd remember and think of you as a traitor?" Hige gave Kiba a mock punch to the back of his shoulder.

"You ass!" Hige hissed almost on the verge of yelling with an upset look. Kiba looked at the tan wolf in confusion. "Geeze, you don't have to carry the weight of the world, you know!" Hige huffed a sigh. "We're your friends, Kiba. You can let us help you with that burden you're always carrying on the inside. Don't you trust us by now?" Kiba gave a genuine smile towards Hige.

"You guys help more than you think, really."

"Well, then let us know what's going on in that head of yours once in a while."

"I'll think about it. You know, Hige if you want the bed,"

"Nah, I'm fine. Hey, you think Tsume and Toboe remember anything?"

"Have you noticed how Toboe's been hanging around Tsume a lot closer? And how Tsume isn't yelling at him for it? I'd say definitely. They're probably just working out their concerns. But we had more with us."

"Who?"

"Three humans and one other. I think a half-breed."

"Who could that be? I'd bet Tsume would have a cow!" Hige mused.

"Probably," Kiba chuckled.

"Why are you guys still up?" a young voice asked. It was Toboe barefoot, shirt untucked, and hair ruffled up in a mess.

"What're you doin' up, runt?" Hige eyed the young wolf.

"Duh, there was loud noise and you two talking. How was I supposed to sleep?"

"Huh," Hige groaned. "So, is Tsume up then?"

"No, he's a pretty sound sleeper. At least he doesn't snore," Toboe giggled. "How's he doing?" the russet wolf motioned to Aibo before moving to the kid's bedside to take a few sniffs.

"Not much change. I think I might have found something, though," Kiba replied.

"What?"

"Nothing much, it's just a hunch."

"Well, it looks like there's a party in here," there stood Kyo in the doorway lacking the overcoat from when they had seen her in the lobby.

"Why are you here?" Hige wondered.

"Heard a noise. Thought I'd investigate," she shrugged. "Damn paparazzi, they finally let me go."

"What's a paparazzi?" Toboe inquired.

"Pray you never find out kid," Kyo advised. "By the way, it might be a good idea if you didn't leave the hotel tomorrow. There've been several killings caused by 'dogs', supposedly. At least that's the cover story. In reaction, police have been shooting all unaccompanied dogs on site . . ."

"What's that got to do with us?" Hige insisted. He didn't quite like the idea of being locked into a small room with Tsume of all people.

"There are several rumors I've heard. I think that some of the dogs that have been killed . . . were really wolves. That may explain why Zali was so riled up."

"Okay _mom_," Hige gave a sarcastic tease. Kyo only scowled at the tan wolf.

"Hey Kiba, there's something I want to ask you."

"What?" he replied.

"In private," Kyo glared at Hige.

"Fine I'm going, geeze."

"Aw, how come I have to go? I'm still not sleepy again yet," Toboe whined.

"Tell you what kid, if you go now I'll show you how I help Kage when he has trouble sleeping. But I'm only gonna do it if you go now and no arguing, okay?" Toboe nodded and left the room. Now the wolf and the cat were alone.

"What do you wanna talk about?" Kiba wasted no time in getting to the matter at hand.

"Why . . . are you guys traveling around like this? What is it you're looking for?"

"Paradise," they both said at the same time, Kiba in reply and Kyo as a question.

"I knew it! I just knew there was something different about the four of you!"

"Why did you want to know?"

"I've got a favor to ask. I want you guys to take me with you. I can't track the lunar flower scent on my own. A feline's nose just wasn't made to track plants, and Kage's too preoccupied with his own agenda to care about Paradise." Kiba gave her a skeptical look.

"Why would you even care?"

"Because . . . there's just too many wolves making too much of a fuss over it for there not to be some truth to it. Whatever that truth is, I wanna see it with my own eyes. That'll be enough. I just want to see it for myself, that's all," the feline confessed.

Kiba stared at her in thoughtful silence. "Somehow, I don't think you're telling me everything."

"Maybe you're right. Hey, you don't have to give me your answer right now. Why don't you come to the concert tomorrow night. I'll explain why there. If you stick around after the show, we can talk some more. Or you could leave right after, and go on your way with no grudges born, no questions asked, and no explanations needed. Promise. All I want is for you to hear me out, all right?"

"We'll see." Kyo nodded and left the room so she could fulfill her promise to Toboe.

Kiba returned his attention to Aibo. The white wolf seated himself on the bed next to the boy. He went back to the book still in hand looking in his previous spot for anything else that might elaborate upon the cryptic passage. After no avail, Kiba remembered the other book. Upon fetching the Book of the Moon, he laid the two next to one another on the bed. The moment the books came into close proximity energy--like an electric spark--raced betwixt the pair. Red lettering then etched itself into the pages of the Chronicle following the white lettering Kiba had uncovered. It was one singular and simple sentence. "Only by the blessings of our master are we guarded from all that we may not see."

Kiba sighed. "You're really not going to just give me the answer, are you?" he asked the books and received no reply. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised. Nothing has ever been that easy." With that, Kiba closed the books casually tossing them aside towards the general vicinity of Aibo's jacket. The wolf watched the sleeping child closely as he sat there next to him on the bed. "So, what are you dreaming about?" Kiba reached over and stroked Aibo's forehead. At the very least, the kid wasn't feverish. Aibo squirmed about wriggling closer to Kiba. "Well, no use staying up any longer," Kiba threw off his jacket and shoes before settling in comfortably for the night.

Kyo paused halfway between the bedrooms, startled by a strange grumbling. She looked around for a bit finding Hige on the couch who was grinning sheepishly. "Heh, heh, this thing never shuts up," he patted his gut.

"Oh crap, that's right," she gave herself a bop on the forehead. "You're all probably hungry. Sheesh, I completely forgot. Well, not much we can do about it now. So what do you all like to eat anyway?"

"Ah, usually whatever we can find. Just meat, I guess."

"You sure that's it?"

"Well," then Hige got the impulse to cause a little mischief, just for fun. "Kiba likes hot dogs."

"Hmm, really?"

"Yeah, sure does!"

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Kyo smiled as she excused herself to Toboe and Tsume's room. Once through the door she found Tsume asleep on his side facing the door. Toboe, the one furthest from the door, sat upright on the bed leaning against the headboard. "Hey kid," she smiled a ruffled Toboe's hair. "So what's the problem."

"I can't sleep, remember?" Toboe sounded a bit cranky.

"Why not?"

"I'm hungry," he confessed. "I just didn't want to complain about it, that's all."

"Sorry, I'll have something for you guys in the morning, okay?"

"Okay," Toboe sighed.

"You know that other wolf I hang around with, Kage? Sometimes he can't get to sleep at night. I figured out a little trick to help with that. But he never asked for help and got a bit irritated every time I brought it up. So, finally I just had to be nonchalant about it."

"So, what did you do?" Toboe titled his head in curiosity.

"Simple, I sang for him. When Kage would snap that he didn't need my help, I'd just tell him I was singing for myself just because. One thing though, don't let him know that you know. It won't turn out pretty," Kyo warned Toboe. "All right, I think you should lie down first. You wouldn't want to sleep propped up like that." Toboe did as she suggested, and Kyo seated herself near Toboe on the bed. "I think I know the perfect song." She started off with a gentle humm, building into a soft slowly rocking melody then leading into the lyrics.

Kyo would have asked Toboe how he liked her singing, but the pup was already sound asleep. She smiled to herself knowing he liked it just fine. Kyo reached over and stroked the sleeping wolf's brow. _You know, I bet he'd be about your age now, Toboe. I wonder if he would have looked like you, too?_ She thought quietly to herself. 

"What the heck is with you?" Kyo was startled by Tsume's voice. His intent and tone was that of curiosity rather than antagonism, but Kyo still returned the question with a lethal scowl. "You've got as big a soft spot for the runt as he has for humans."

Kyo stood up and seriously considered telling Tsume off, but instead she opted for the cold shoulder treatment. "Hmph," she grunted upturning her head and storming out of the room. Tsume was left in something of a confused stupor with a matching expression adorning his face. He soon heard the door to their 'apartment' lightly slam shut. She was pissed at him. That much Tsume knew, but wasn't particularly worried about it. He wasn't going to lose any sleep over her being mad at him, and that's precisely what the gray wolf went back to doing.

Morning came soon, and the wolves gradually awoke. Hige and Toboe were the first ones awake in the living room with Kyo. Toboe sat on the floor in front of the coffee table while Hige was in the middle of the couch with Kyo to his left. She had room service bring enough food for everyone. Three trays, full of food that the wolves had never seen before along with a paper bag, sat on the coffee table between the threesome.

"What the heck is this stuff?" Hige inquired as he played with the strange food.

"Humans call is sushi. It's the closest thing you can get to raw meat in the city, but it can be a bit costly depending on the vendor. However, there's no benefit in getting it from a cheap place because there's the possibility of getting bad meat," Kyo elaborated.

"But this stuff is already bad!" Hige moaned.

"Come on Hige, you haven't even tried yours yet," Toboe insisted. "But how are you supposed to eat it?" Toboe asked as he poked at a squishy piece of octopus tentacle. Kyo giggled at the sight. Toboe looked really cute, just like a puppy discovering something new.

"Just pick it up and throw it you mouth," Kyo instructed proceeding to give a demonstration. "There's not much to it." The other two complained about the taste at first, but after sampling several of the varieties present, Toboe and Hige found suitable agreements to their individual pallet's liking. Finally, there came a groan from the room Toboe and Tsume had stayed in. Tsume, fully dressed, stood in the doorway rubbing the sleep out of eyes.

"What is that stench?" the grumpy gray wolf griped.

"Come on and try it, Tsume! It's really not bad," Toboe coaxed his otherwise reluctant companion. The gray wolf unceremoniously plopped himself on the couch next to Hige. Tsume scooped up a particular fish piece that caught his attention and downed it just as quickly. The other two wolves had their eyes trained on their packmate trying to discern his reaction. However, Tsume hardly ever let his face betray him.

"Well?" an impatient Toboe finally asked. Tsume just shrugged and made a small sound to single his indifference in the matter. Just then, an idea popped into Toboe's head. "Here, Tsume, try this one," the pup offered, holding out a small black tube-shaped piece. The gray wolf ate it without much thought. However, once Tsume chewed and swallowed the piece Toboe gave him, the reaction was instant. His eyes flew wide open and he leapt over the coffee table dashing towards the kitchenette space. Tsume nearly ripped the knob off the faucet over the sink as he turned on the water. For the next three minutes, Tsume stood there chugging water. Once satisfied, his eyes narrowed, and he redirected his attention to the pup.

"What the hell was that!" he growled.

"Toboe, you didn't give Tsume one of the horseradish ones, did you?" Kyo interrogated the pup.

"What's the matter Tsume? The horseradish too hot for you?" Toboe teased with a giggle and a grin. Then the russet wolf got a good look at how pissed Tsume was. "Uh . . . uh-oh," he realized now just how much trouble he was in. Toboe raced off for the bedroom he had spent the night in, with Tsume right at his heels.

"Come back here, you little runt!" Tsume shouted as he bolted after the pup. Tsume tackled Toboe just in front of the bed sending the two of them tumbling over it and off the other side onto the floor with a hard thud. Tsume pinned Toboe in a headlock with one arm and ground his knuckles in to pup's head with the other arm. "I'll teach you to pull pranks." Toboe managed to wiggle out of Tsume's hold, and then launched himself at his friend trying to pin the older wolf. As the two went rolling across the floor Tsume shouted, "You little brat!" Then the gray wolf counted the russet wolf's charge. They continued wrestling on the floor back and forth making quite a racket slamming into walls and other various objects in the room.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Kyo , getting a little concerned, asked Hige.

"Relax, Tsume wouldn't hurt Toboe for the world. The runt just wanted to wrestle, that's all. But he wanted to piss Tsume off, first. One, so that Tsume _would_ wrestle him, and two, so Tsume won't go easy on the brat," Hige chuckled with his bit of banter. He could read his packmates' quite well.

"Hmm, are you sure?" Kyo asked as another series of loud impacts sounded from the room.

"What's that smell?" came Kiba's groggy voice.

"Oh, hey Kiba. You're finally up," Hige casually waved.

"Who is she?" Aibo peeked out from behind Kiba's left leg.

"She's someone who helped us," Kiba patted Aibo's head.

"Oh."

"Ah, here you go," Kyo announced as she handed the paper bag to Kiba. The wolf opened it up to inspect the contents. When Kiba pulled out one of the three hot dogs inside there was a very uncharacteristic 'why me' look on his face. "Is something wrong? Hige said they were your favorite."

"Hey, well I didn't say that exactly," the tan wolf laughed uneasily.

"He did, did he?" Kiba glared at his mischievous friend. Hige gulped knowing full well what the look meant: 'I _will_ get you back for this'.

"Um, could I have those if you're not gonna eat 'em?" Aibo asked.

"Sure," Kiba handed over the loathed food items.

"Thanks, it's kind of nice to eat something that isn't raw once in while."

"Huh, I'll keep it mind," Kiba ruffled the kid's hair.

"Aw, Kiba makes such a good dad," Kyo remarked.

"Who're you calling 'dad'?" Kiba stared at her with a raised eyebrow. Even Hige seemed a bit surprised.

"What, you mean he's not your pup?"  
"Well, no. Aibo's not even a wolf. What gave you that idea?"

"Oh, really? Sorry, it's just that he smelled so much like you guys."

"Um, I'm gonna go find Toboe," Aibo excused himself from this awkward situation before anyone wanted to know what he was thinking.

"I didn't mean to put a dampener on things," Kyo apologized again. "Kiba, you can help yourself to whatever you like," she motioned to the sushi. Kiba scooped up one of the hot ones Toboe had giving Tsume. The pair sitting on the couch were about to warn Kiba, but he scarfed it down before either one could say anything. Hige and Kyo sat staring, mouths agape, waiting for Kiba's reaction.

"Hmm, not bad," he remarked and then ate another one. Hige picked up one thinking that they might not be spicy hot after all, but Kyo put her hand on his shaking her head back and forth.

Tsume and Toboe finally emerged from their wrestling match. Tsume shoved Toboe out the door first. Aibo stood behind the two wolves, having just missed seeing whom the victor had been. However, it didn't look like those two wolves were going to supply the play by play. "Well, are we gonna get going or what?" Tsume barked impatiently.

"Won't do us much good. That door's still locked," Kiba reminded the other.

"Damn."

"Door? What door?" Kyo inquired.

"We found a tunnel that had the scent of lunar flowers coming from it, but the thing's sealed off tight," Hige explained.

"Why don't I just have Joachim look into it? It sounds like something that the humans of this city should know about."

"What are you talking about?" Kiba gave her a puzzled look as soon did the others.  
"Humans like to store all sorts of odd bits of information using machines. Joachim mentioned this 'database' as he called it while he was looking through city maps and whatnot to find us a place to stay. The only problem is . . . that to get at any of the information you have to have a human do it for you. There's a strange method to searching this mechanical archive. Other than that, there's not much I can tell you about it."

"Thanks, but no. We can handle this ourselves with some stinking human's help," Tsume insisted flatly.

"That's the first time you've thanked me for something," Kyo tilted her head and smiled at Tsume. The gray wolf just furrowed his brow in confusion and shook his head. Then a noise caught everyone's attention. The door to the living room space was being shaken back and forth. The group noticed a small feline paw stretched underneath the door and curled up on their side. That's what had been causing the door to rock. Kyo opened the door, and Isabelle strolled right into the wolves' room.

"Kyo, Joachim is on his way up here, and he's looking for you," the cat announced.

"Thanks for the heads up."

"If you want to thank me, there is something you could buy me . . ." the house cat coyly alluded.

"We'll talk later. Right now, you guys need to get out of here unless you want to meet Joachim. He'll have a fit if he finds out I let four guys I just met stay here."

"You're right, I think I would be quite upset," Joachim glared at everyone in the room while he stood in the open doorway. "Who the hell are these people? Where were you yesterday afternoon? And how in the hell did you get those cuts on you wrist?"

"Hmph, this guy doesn't miss a beat," Tsume scoffed.

"I was here the whole night. They didn't try anything, so you can quit barking and go back to your dog house," Kage, who had finally emerged from his bedroom, taunted the high strung manager. Tsume and Hige snickered at Kage's comment.

"Kage," Kyo stared at her bodyguard, "that was uncalled for." Kage only shrugged.

"Well, are you going to tell me what went on, or am I going to have to call security to remove these trespassers," Joachim demanded impatiently.

"Joachim, calm down. I got mugged, but Kage was there, and these boys were passing by so they decided to help." Kyo sauntered over to Kage and then lifted up his shirt. She displayed the still fresh, yet healing, slash wounds on his muscular torso. "See. These other four also got pretty banged up on my account, so show them some gratitude and stop with the fifth degree already."

"Hey," Kage finally knocked Kyo's hand away while quickly putting his shirt back into place. He almost seemed a little embarrassed.

"Well, this is what you get when you got out on your own with a word to anyone. Be more careful from now on all right, Kyo?" Joachim rubbed his temples with both hands. "Look, we've got a lot of work to do. It's time for the rehearsals, so I'm here to make sure you're there. We're still waiting for your final approval of tonight's song line up. And we've got to run a preshow sound check, and everyone's waiting on you before we can get things started. So let's go already!" Kyo sighed in defeat.

"Well guys, guess I'll see you all tonight, I hope." With that she left for the station escorted by her manager.

"Well now that the circus act is gone, guess we get back to tracking down Zali," Tsume reasoned.

"Right then, let's go," Kiba agreed.

"Hey wait, what about what Kyo said? You know, about wolves being killed." Toboe reminded the group.

"Relax, we'll be fine. All we gotta do is keep cool and fool any humans we come across. Simple as that." Hige sounded confident.

"You coming with us?" Kiba directed the question to Kage.

"Ah, what the hell," he shrugged, speaking in a relaxed, casual tone, "it's not like I've got anything better to do."

As the group made their way down the staircase of the hotel, a thought occurred to Tsume causing him to speak up, "Hey, what the heck did you mean by N.S.S.U. the other day? You know something about why those wolves were working for those nobles, don't you?"

"You're right. I do," Kage replied.

"Then why didn't you say something about it earlier?" Tsume pressed.

"Because you only just now put it together," came Kage's smart aleck reply. Kage was a step below Tsume at the time, and it was then that the gray wolf spun the other around grabbing him by the shirt collar.

"Talk!" Tsume commanded holding Kage with a vice-like grip.

"Heh, tell me, would you have been able to bring yourself to help kill those wolves if you'd known that they were acting against their own will?" Tsume let go of Kage at this point, and the others stopped directing their attention at Kage. This turn had taken them by surprise. It was one thing to kill an enemy that wanted you dead, but the wolves they had helped kill probably didn't even want to fight in the first place. Kiba, Tsume, and Hige were kicking themselves for not having realized it when they saw Kage speaking with his dying brother. "It stands for Neural Suppression and Stabilization Unit. That's the control mechanism they use to stabilize the genetic metamorphosis and to suppress conscious thought."

"How . . . how do you know all this?" Toboe asked.

Kage gave small smile, "Kid, there's a lot of things I know that I'm not sure why I know them. Take where did I get these guns for example, and where did I learn how to use them. I haven't got a clue, but I don't question it. I just trust in what I know, and it hasn't let me down yet." Finally, the group reached the ground level. They decided to exit out a back door in the stairwell which let them out into an alleyway. As the group left the building, heading for the main street, they immediately bumped into the female wolf from Zali's pack. She was running and nearly plowed over Hige.

"Please, you've got to help me!" she cried desperately. "It's Moss and the others . . . Zali only wanted to talk and . . . but, but once Zali--he met with Moss . . . they, they're going to kill him!" her words were jumbled and confused. She could barely get the thought out.

"Calm down," Kiba instructed, "Who are you, and what's going on?"

"My name's Kohl. Please, you have to help Zali. Moss and the others are going to kill him!" she pleaded.

"Why should we step in? Isn't he the one who didn't want us interfering in your lives," Tsume sneered. Cruel as it sounded, it was what the other wolves were thinking. "Besides, if there's a challenge for leadership, who are we to but in?"

"It isn't like that. It was an ambush! Zali had asked Moss to meet with him alone. But once they met, the others attacked and Moss joined in! Zali only wanted to talk. He suspected Moss and his friends had been behind the killings of several outsiders ever since Moss came back that one day smelling like that child you have with you. Zali had told Moss to leave the boy alone the first time the child appeared in this city, but Moss wouldn't let it go," Kohl explained.

"He said I needed to be punished for reminding them of Paradise with my scent," Aibo added.

"And now that Moss had gone after that boy again, _and_ the fact that several of our own pack members had been killed by the police because of Moss's actions is why Zali finally had to do something about it. Moss had always been a problem, but we never thought he was planning to betray us."

"So then, if he's a traitor now that means he's no longer a part of you pack, right?" Tsume questioned. Kohl nodded. Tsume, Hige, and Toboe's glances met one another's and they all smirked. _Payback time_, they all thought. "I guess that changes things a bit. So, where is the old-timer anyway?"

"Four blocks back towards the cemetery, then take a left. Then go down the second street on your right. You should pick up their scents before then. Please, hurry! I've got to go get the rest of the pack. They're all at the station," with that Kohl left in a hurry to inform the rest of her pack about their rogue packmates' betrayal.

Kiba hoisted Aibo onto his back as the pack sprinted off. The pack soon took a tight formation as the sea of humanity clogging the streets pressed in around them. Kiba took point even with the extra weight on his back. Tsume and Hige were at either of his sides while Kage kept pace just next to Hige and Toboe did the same next to Tsume. Overall, their formation resembled something of a large 'V' shape. The white wolf found himself pondering just why in the hell they were racing across the city to help some wolf they didn't much care for, nor did the said wolf care much for them. However, Kiba found it to be an easy question to answer. Ambushing your own pack leader for whatever reason was the lowest form of betrayal a wolf could commit. This Moss had no pride as a wolf. He didn't much less deserve to be called a wolf. There was nothing wrong with outright openly challenging your leader for control. After all, packs were set up to allow change of leadership, but this was just petty bloodlust as Kiba decided in his mind. Kiba figured that Moss must have tired at killing humans and now wanted to try seeing if he could get away with killing another wolf. Apparently though, not just any wolf would do. It made Kiba's blood boil to think that a wolf of all creatures would fall so low as to actually do something like this.

Another thought also occurred to Kiba. He found it a little touching that the others: Hige, Tsume, and Toboe were willing to support him--even to this extent. Kiba was smart enough to figure out why his friends weren't having any second thoughts about jumping into this fight. Usually, Hige wouldn't be one to rush into a conflict without a plan, and Toboe would normally be hesitant to any fighting. However, they were acting much like Tsume would, eagerly plowing into confrontation if it suited his whims. Kiba couldn't help but crack a smile as he started to figure out that the roots of his friends' loyalty to him ran deeper than what he had expected.

As for this new wolf, Kiba couldn't be completely sure about Kage, but at the moment it seemed that the black and white wolf was merely grateful to be in the company of his own kind. Perhaps that was why he was tagging along for this. Or maybe he was just itching for a fight. It was still too early for Kiba to tell with that guy, however, the white wolf definitely felt that Kage wouldn't be a threat to him or his packmates. Perhaps they might come to trust one another in time. Kiba snapped out of his reverie once he picked up on Zali's scent. They were close and soon they'd have a fight on their hands, so Kiba chose to set Aibo on the ground and let him walk on his own from here.

A few more bends and turns put the pack face to face with Moss and his friends as well as a bloodied and battered Zali. He wasn't the only one sporting injury, though. The old wolf still had something to be proud of, having managed to wound each of his assailants to some degree. Even Moss, himself, had failed to remain unscathed, but still it was clear that Zali had been fighting a losing battle. One of the wolves charged for Zali, at that moment, thrusting him into a cluster of trash cans. The cans went rolling once the wolf collided with them. As Zali rose back to his feet on weak legs, everyone paused finally taking notice of Kiba and his pack.

"What do you boys think you're doing here?" Zali huffed as his knees began to buckle.

"Heard there was a fight about to start. Looks like we're just in time," Tsume smirked bearing his teeth.

Zali glared at Tsume and the others, "I told you to stay out of my pack's business."

"They aren't part of your pack anymore, old-timer. That means we can do whatever we feel like." Tsume was the first to leap into the fray followed closely by Hige, Kage, and even Toboe--all of them dropping their human forms. The four wolves each singled out an opponent leaving Kiba and Moss to watch the scene. Tsume rushed his opponent faking back slightly to evade his enemy's snapping jaws and then pressed in biting into the other wolf's shoulder. Tsume's opponent snapped his jaws and eventually managed to shake himself loose of the gray wolf's iron grip. After this, the wolf ran off leaving Tsume disappointed at an all too easily won victory. Tsume quickly scanned the fight soon locating Toboe. The gray wolf just had to snicker at what he saw. Toboe had clamped onto his opponent's tail. The other wolf chased after Toboe, but the russet wolf kept running and dodging leaving the two of them running in a continuous circle.

"Toboe," Tsume called to the pup. Toboe let go of the other wolf's tail then jumping backwards landing gracefully beside Tsume. The other wolf started to come at Toboe, but hesitated once it caught sight of Tsume's gleaming fangs displayed in full view. At the sound of the gray wolf's deep growl, Toboe's opponent turned tail and ran.

Hige and Kage were mopping up their opponents quite nicely. The wolf Hige was fighting lunged forward leaping into the air head on at the tan wolf. Kage intervened right then, intercepting Hige's opponent midair. The two wolves went rolling and then finally broke apart. The black and white wolf had left the other wolf with several deep bites before it decided to run off. "Hey, I didn't need your help. I could've taken him," Hige complained.

"How about you just owe me one--right now," Kage finished in a hurry. Hige caught sight of the wolf Kage had abandoned in order to come help him. Kage's opponent was already mid jump headed towards Kage's side. Kage ducked down and rolled out of the way while Hige rammed into the other wolf as it crossed in front of him. The two rolled several times and then Hige, using his jaws to dig into the scruff on the back of his opponent's neck, sent his opponent flying with a strong throw. The last wolf went running, as well, leaving Moss all by himself. Moss started to back away.

"What's that matter. Don't have enough pride as a wolf to finish what you started by yourself?" Kiba taunted. The four victorious wolves backed away allowing Kiba to take point and stare down Moss.

"You damn outsiders," Moss snarled with all the hatred he could muster. "Pride as a wolf is nothing but a load of shit! I'll show you outsiders and your damn pride!" Moss shed his human form lunging for the white wolf. Kiba was more than ready and willing to put an end to the life of this pathetic excuse for a wolf. Moss's charge was slow and clumsy showing his obvious lack individual fighting experience. Just before the wolf reached Kiba, Aibo stepped out from behind Kiba positioning himself between the two wolves. Aibo held his left hand forward causing Moss to come to a dead halt. The two stared at one another for a good while. Kiba was afraid that Moss might attack Aibo at any instant and was about to move the child away. However, Moss did something _very_ strange. He lowered his ears, began wagging his tail, and whimpered softly while licking the boy's hand just like a dog would do.

"Satisfied?" came the familiar reverberating voice. Aibo turned his head allowing the wolves to see the fading eerie red glow emanating from his eyes of wine's hue. Kiba's brow narrowed as he met the guardian's stare eye to eye. Tsume and Hige looked uneasy about this whole thing while Toboe looked with worry towards his gray companion. Kage and Zali, both wide-eyed, were taken back by this whole occurrence not sure of what to make of things.

"What did you do to him?" Kiba questioned.

"Simple, he acted like a dog, and this one made him so. Moss will live the rest of his life thinking he is nothing more than a pet dog."

"But why . . ." Kiba started, but the guardian cut him off.

"What? You think it too extreme? Well, see now, how he's a hypocrite, Aibo? First, he yells at this one for not protecting you. Then, Aibo, when this one defies your wishes and exercises this one's power to protect you, _he_ objects. That doesn't truly matter, but on the other hand even though he objects now, this is still the thing Kiba wished for. Deny the truth as much as you wish Aibo, but it does not change the facts." Kiba blinked several times trying to figure out if the guardian was taunting him, talking to itself, or had just plain and simple gone insane. "This one may speak to Aibo whenever this one wishes," the guardian sneered at Kiba in response to the white wolf's expression. "You know, this act was deemed too cruel by the child, but still you wished for it to be done. This one does have the power to and can protect this boy, and this one will use it when he allows. This one is able to do far worse than that which was done to Moss and is willing use this one's powers against even _you_."

"You're not Aibo, and you don't get to decide what to do with his body or his life!" Kiba glared angrily at the guardian. "I'll get you out of there one way or another."

"Just you try it," the guardian dared Kiba. Then Aibo's eye drooped shut and the child fell to his knees. Kiba stooped down catching the boy before he wound up face down in the snow.

"Aibo, are you all right?" The boy's eyes weakly fluttered halfway open.

"I'm . . . just really tired," the child spoke softly in one breath. Kiba lifted the child into his arms holding the boy close to his chest. Aibo hugged Kiba's torso while resting his head on the wolf's shoulder. Then he whispered to Kiba, "Moss . . . all of his bad and painful memories are gone. All he can remember is happiness and his pack. But still, he is no longer a wolf--not in nature anyway. Can you find a good person to look after him?"

"Sure, now just rest."

"Okay."

"Zali!" came a shout from a voice the wolves recognized. It was Kohl and she had brought several of her packmates from the station. Kyo was not with them. Kohl ran towards Zali and threw her arms around her mate. "You're all right," she started to cry into his shirt as she held him tightly. Kohl kissed Zali softly on his bruised face.

"Hey," Kiba called to the two wolves, "think you can take care of this guy?" Kohl was a bit startled when she saw how Moss was acting like a friendly pet dog.

"You don't need to worry about it. We do take care of our own, after all," Zali assured Kiba. "And . . . thanks," Zali muttered.

"There's something we want to ask you about," Tsume cut to the business end of their search for Zali.

"Go ahead," Zali answered.

Hige spoke up next, "Well see, there's this door at the the cemetery, but the damn thing's locked. We were kinda hoping that you might know something about it," Hige chuckled while rubbing his nose with the side of his index finger.

"You kids really are looking for Paradise, aren't you?"

"It's only a matter of time until we find it," Kiba stated.

Zali nodded, "Fine, follow me." The scarred alpha lead the other five wolves, with their 'luggage' in tow, back to the cemetery rather quickly. The streets were as busy and crowded as ever, and the fact that it was about noon didn't help the matter. It only meant that there were even more people up and about. They could still forge a path towards their destination somewhat easily provided that they didn't stop until they had reached the cemetery and the door in question. After roughly half an hour of swimming through an ocean of humans, the wolves finally stood before the obstacle in their path to Paradise. "There's something you might want to know." Zali walked up to the keypad on the door and lifted the face of the device on its hinge at its top side. He stepped aside to let the others see the condition of machine. All the wires had either been cut, ripped out, or rusted away due to the ravages of many years of desuetude. "This thing hasn't worked in years. Besides that, the door's rusted shut, so it's just one huge chunk of metal."

"You mean you led us here for nothing?" Hige groaned. The spirits of the others had sank, as well, except for Kiba who was still staring with intensity and expectation at Zali until the realization clicked for him.

"So how did you and your pack get in there?" Kiba queried. Zali started up the hillside where the pipe was buried motioning for the others to follow him. Several meters from the entrance he stopped and kicked at the ground.

"Dig straight down from here, and you'll find a hole in wall of that pipe. That's how we got in."

"Why did your pack turn back?"

"There are machines down there that killed half my pack when we down there. We later learned that humans call those things 'gun turrets'. Apparently, some human military once used this as a supply route, but it's long since been abandoned. If your lucky, the machines might have rusted down to nothing just like that door. But . . . it's still a gamble. You boys are on your own from here on. Good luck, 'cause you're gonna need it." Zali strode off back to the city leaving the wolves to their digging. At this point all the wolves decided that it would be fine to drop their human forms and perhaps less conspicuous. After all, no one would bother to stop and investigate why--what they assumed to be--dogs would be digging a hole in the ground.

Kiba was the first to go at it wasting no time in getting the hole dug. The white wolf kept up a decent pace for about an hour before finally giving it up for a rest. Kiba took care of breaking through the thick grass which congregated around only the pipe. There was just enough heat radiating from the pipe to help plants grow in the cold weather. There was an added bonus in that the pipe's warmth kept the ground surrounding it from freezing. Hige continued the excavation project since his friend had taken care of most of the hard stuff with getting the hole started. Kiba had already carved out several feet into the hill so it wasn't too long before Hige struck metal. From there, Toboe joined in helping to widen and deepen the hole whilst looking for the telltale breach in the pipe. Reluctantly, Tsume joined the effort after twenty minutes of a steady glare from Kiba. Tsume hated the idea of digging a hole like dog, thus the root of his reluctance. But it wasn't like he was going to tell anyone that.

At that point, Kage was starting to feel a bit left out, even though he wouldn't say anything to anyone. The black and white wolf nonchalantly crept over to the hole now with three wolves inside. After something like a casual 'need any help?' and getting a few apathetic glances in response which equated to a 'suit yourself', Kage slide down into the hole picked a spot and started scooping dirt out of the miniature crater. Meanwhile, Kiba stayed topside keeping an eye on Aibo. The wolves in the hole had to dig nearly underneath the pipe before finding the break in the metal surface which Zali had told them about. At long last the goal obtained, the wolves clambered out of the hole one by one each taking a moment to shake the loose dirt from their fur.

"All right then, let's get going," Kiba, eager to resume their journey, encouraged the group.

"I'm hungry. Let's find something eat first. Besides, who knows how long it'll be before we find food again after we get out of that thing," Hige advised.

"He just wants to stuff his gut," Tsume needled the tan wolf, "but he's got a point. Don't forget, we can't have the runt or the brat collapsing on us because we pushed 'em too hard. Unless, of course, you'd like to carry both of them, Kiba."

"Fine," Kiba relented with a sigh. Hige was fairly ticked at Tsume and ready for a go around if only just in words. However, Kage queried Hige before the tan wolf could muster a sarcastic comeback consequently getting himself killed by Tsume.

"I guess that's as close as he'll ever come to a compliment, right?" Kage posed the question to Hige with something of smirk. "Guess that makes you pretty lucky?"

"Some luck I've got, then. Heck, I'd be better off cursed!" Hige muttered. Kage broke out laughing at that. Hige started to chuckle too after a moment.

"Hmm, for a pain in the ass you're all right."

"I guess I'll take that as a compliment," Hige said with raised eyebrow.

"Well, you're the second person that can make me laugh."

"So, who's the first?" Hige pondered, but didn't really need Kage to reply. The tan wolf figured out the answer to his own question. The wolf pack strode back to the city now that it was late afternoon. On the way, Kage came alongside Kiba. "You gonna leave Kyo behind? I know she had to have asked you, at least, to come to that concert tonight."

"She's too wrapped up in her life with the humans. She would only slow us down, and probably get in the way," Kiba reasoned.

"You're right. And, it is your choice, after all," Kage agreed.

"What about you? Aren't you going to come with us?"

"Huh? Why would you want me along?"

"You are a wolf, right, so why not search for Paradise with us? We also have the same enemy, don't we?" Kage shrugged at Kiba's questions.

"Why not, it might be nice to have a change in company," Kage reasoned.

"Besides, if Kyo really wants to search for Paradise," Kiba continued, "then she's got to make the choice to search for herself. She can't just rely on others to make that choice for her."

"Guess I never thought about it like that," the black and white wolf admitted. "It makes sense, though. She can't just tag along. She'll have find her own resolve to search on her own regardless of whether she can get help or not. That is what you were getting at, right?" Kiba nodded succinctly to Kage's statement.

"Hey guys," Hige spoke up, "think we can drop by that cat lady for another free meal?"

"You don't know the meaning of 'wearing out your welcome', do you?" Toboe scowled at Hige.

Eventually, all five stomachs were fed. The wolves spent a few hours relieving several street venders of their food wares. They alternated from inattentive clerks while picking their meals so no one got suspicious. Aibo had no trouble in relying on the pitiful looks of a small helpless boy to get some charity offers. However, the pack's other youngster wasn't as lucky. After Toboe made several unsuccessful attempts, the russet wolf finally lifted a small morsel, but definitely not enough to satisfy him. The other four wolves, including Kage, felt pity for the pup. They took turns nabbing stuff for him to eat when they thought the other three weren't looking. Toboe kept his mouth shut about the whole thing gladly gobbling down whatever the others brought him.

Being the 'runt' had its advantages every once in a while. He'd have plenty of chances to prove himself as a wolf later, but for now Toboe was overjoyed that Kiba, Hige, and Tsume, in their own ways, showed that the he was a part of their pack. Toboe smiled at the thought that they were becoming more and more of a real pack. Even the new wolf seemed to want to fit into the pack. After Toboe made a pig out of himself, the pack headed back for the tunnel. It was early evening as they set out inside the pipe leaving behind this city where so many strange things had happened to them.

Once they had all climbed down the hole and up through the opening, the wolves took a slow pace keeping a vigilant watch for any dangers. It didn't take long for them to find said dangers either. The pipe led into a larger system of passageways. Hige was the first to peek out of their pipe into the new opening. The tan wolf heard a mechanical whirling noise. He looked up just in time to see the barrel of a gatling gun mounted on the ceiling staring him in the face. Hige immediately ducked back inside the pipe. However, as the gun began to spin trying to fire its bullets the barrel fell right off its ceiling mount. Years of decay and rust had rendered the weapon far less than lethal. The wolves ventured out of the pipe into the passageway, but still kept a leery eye out for any more of those gun turrets. Now, it was time for the pack to move on and find Cheza, so they could continue onwards to Paradise.

However, the one the wolves left behind still had yet to discover their departure. Kyo sat in the backstage area of the station. The concert was going off without a hitch. There had been a couple guest singers that performed under Kyo's endorsement. The crowd ate it up. Obviously, this city didn't have much in the way of live entertainment. It was time for the closing number. The costume she wore was part of the show. It was an elegant open-shoulder white dress. The dress fell down from the waist in long overlapping strips that came to curved points making it look like petals of white flower. Her hair and make up were perfect, and now it was time to wrap up the show. She could hear her manager, Joachim, giving her an intro for the last song.

"And now, the moment you've waited for. Black Cat will be singing tonight's finale!"

There it was--her introduction by stage name. Kyo almost floated as she strode past Joachim along the narrow catwalk stage they had setup. The band was ready and waiting for her signal to start the music. Kyo paused for a moment scanning the crowd. She spotted the table she made Joachim reserve for Kiba and the others, but it was still empty. The crowd applauded as Kyo made her way to the end of the stage. The microphone hung loosely in her hand as her arm drooped by her side. The feline searched all the rows and tables from front to back. She glanced around the back wall and then turned around looking at the stage to see if she could just find Kage. _He has to be here, at least,_ is what she sincerely hoped. Silence now filled the air as the crowd awaited her song. Kyo just stood there hanging her head. The crowd started to murmur amongst themselves not sure if something was wrong. Even Kyo's band was starting to worry.

"Hey everybody, y'all having a good time tonight?" she called out to the crowd catching them all by surprise. The people, however, answered in a solid affirmation. "I can't hear you!" Kyo shouted. The crowd shouted back their answer louder. She loved giving of herself to make others happy. Kyo wasn't the most generous person, but she liked to perform and help people forget their troubles for a while. "All right. There were some friends I had invited for the performance tonight, but it looks like they couldn't make it. Oh well, I guess it just means that they miss out, right?" The crowd called back an affirmative 'right' bordering on a roar. This is what Kyo loved doing--making others happy--but tonight the whole effort just felt empty and vain.

Kyo motioned for the band to start the music. First a violin accompanied by a harp played in a slow sorrowful melody. Then the violin and harp ceased and a piano keyed in, playing the same somber tune in an arpeggio style. Kyo began to sing in a heavenly voice and eventually the violin rejoined the piano later into the song.

The piano resumed an arpeggio style interlude after the lyrics were complete as an exit for the song. On the ending notes of the piano solo, Kyo repeated the final verse perhaps for effect, "I feel the gravity, of it all," she sang slowly while hanging her head down. The crowd rose to their feet applauding loudly, but no one noticed a single silent tear fall from Kyo's face. She wiped the dampness from her face with the back of her hand and shook her head back bringing up a smiling face. "You've all been a great audience tonight, really." Kyo waved to the fans, "Good night everyone!"

With that, she left for the backstage. Everyone, in the band and management, was quick to congratulate her on another successful performance. Kyo hid her pain and put on a good performance for the people around her. After all, this was her problem, and she felt there was no reason to ruin their good time. All that was left to do now was pack up and enjoy their vacation time. Kyo thought to herself that perhaps she would head back to her hometown area. It had been about a year since she last visited, and the feline was anxious to see what had changed in the time she had been gone. It was a small place in the mountains, but the town and surrounding mountain country were very dear to Kyo. She was looking forward to seeing how Kurzon, Tiza, and the others had fared over the last year. For right now though, Kyo was going to have what fun she could with her human friends. Kyo decided to save thinking about what she would do next for tomorrow.

* * *

**End Episode **

(Not an update) I removed the lyrics due to the recent notice posted by the system administration so, that's where they've gone.

HA! Admit it! You thought I was going to pull a Mary-Sue didn't you? Well, maybe not, but I bet I surprised you, didn't I? The wolves left Kyo behind, bet you didn't see that coming. Oh, just incase anyone is wondering if Tsume and Kyo wound up pairing off as a couple that would surprise even me. Those two would have to write that into the story. Also, just for point of interest, I've tried to kill Orkham twice, but Dark wouldn't let me do it. So see, these characters do write the story and sometimes even defy what I want to happen. But it does seem to work out for the best. Orkham is going to have a role in the story later down the road.

Okay, this is something that I need to ask. Do you people hate Kyo, the OC I introduced in this chapter? I need to know if she's tolerable or just a nuisance. If she really is disliked enough by most of you I can minimize her presence in the story. She does have a purpose, so I'm not going to be axing her soon or anything. It's just that you never know with female OC's in this fandom. I've pretty much done what I could to keep her from becoming a Mary-Sue. Heck, I even made her a different species. By the way, I've found that the puma really is something like the feline equivalent to a wolf. They've got just as much survivability range: forests, mountains, deserts, take your pick. I know there's the whole endurance thing, but cats can cover fairly good distances in a day.

See, I told you it was going to be a long chapter. The page tally is 79. Oh and congratulations! You've read 201 pages! I was going to put one at the 150 mark, but that's somewhere in the middle of this chapter. Wow, this story has reached novel length and it's still not done. Okay, I know this isn't the longest fanfic ever written or posted, but I think that I'm safe in saying this is the longest Wolf's Rain chapter on , and maybe mine might be the longest Wolf's Rain fanfic with the addition of this chapter. However, this could all change as soon by tomorrow's postings. At least, I've set new personal records for myself. And honestly, I did want to write something epic for Wolf's Rain. I just hope this measures up, you know. Oh and don't be expecting another monster like this chapter any time soon. Chapter 9 I can almost guarantee will be shorter than this one.

This is just a last minute correction. Just something I forgot to add. For my character Kyo, if I weired you out with her voice description, well sorry. The voice I had in mind for her is Wendy Lee. She voices Faye Valentine from Cowboy Bebop and is litterally all over the place in anime. If you look her up on the internet you're bound to find her work in some anime that you're familiar with. So, that is what Kyo sounds like.

Next, I also picked out a voice for Kage. Yeah, I haven't said much about him in the notes. Anyway, the voice I wanted him to have is David Kaye. He voices Sesshoumarou from Inuyasha, but he is also litterally everywhere in anime. Guy's got his own homepage. Look him up on the internet and you're bound to find a lot of characters you're familiar with, but didn't know that he voiced.

* * *

**Awrawrawrawrawrawra**: I'm really glad that you liked the relationship between Darcia and Cher. I do have a reason for bringing that into this story, but it won't become evident for a few more chapters. I'll also reveal later on just what it is that Cher is feeling guilty about. By the way, I'm so thrilled that you liked Darcia the second. He's what I like to call a blank slate character: a character whose existence is implied by the series but didn't necessarily appear in the show. He will be appearing again, that I can promise. Oh, and as for multiple events, now I've got a total of five dynasty nobles that have been introduced. 

**Mai Hayami**: Thanks a lot for the complement. :-) I'm not going to do away with Cher and Hubb's relationship, trust me. But I do have something in store for Darcia to deal with, heh, heh, heh. I'll try being original and expanding with new elements, but for right now I can't do too much of that because the wolves are passing through familiar places. However, they will be going to places that they have never ventured to before as well as a few more familiar places. Oh, and I don't mind long reviews at all.

**Nikki**: Thanks for the reassurance on the characters. That's always a big concern of mine. I'm glad you liked the owl and he'll be back. I'll also try to watch it on those simple mistakes.

**IceGoddessII**: Thanks a whole lot for reading and the positive feedback. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's great that classes are finally over for Christmas break.

**Tao Daoshi Jun**: Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying the story and the Darcia/Cher thing. I was really worried about putting that in at first.

**Kaijo101**: I'm really glad you like this story. Darcia is going to have a major role in this, but it's still a bit further off. So just hang on a bit more. However, I think he's going to appear in the next chapter.

**Jazz7**: The lyrics at the end are the song that Cheza sings in the show. I don't have the actual lyrics. Shiro is japanese for white. So they really are actual words, but I don't have the lyrics. I just tried to capture the phonemic sounds as best I could, but I think it still needs some improvement. If you remember the episode "Song of Sleep" the one right after where the wolves first met Cheza, that's the episode where the song is first sung. Hope this answers you questions and no it's not stupid at all. Several people asked about that.

**Shinji Ikari**: I really don't know where to begin. Exchanging e-mails with you was tremendously helpful. You've actually helped me change around one of the more problematic portions of my story. The form that chapter 9 will take is decidedly thanks to you. I hope you'll like what's in store and perhaps I can surprise you with a few things. Oh, and after reading this chapter are you still sure you've seen everything? Ha, ha. Welcome to Wonderland, now just how deep the rabbit hole goes, well not even this Cheshire cat is sure of that one. grin I also hope I can learn to become as helpful as a reviewer to others as you've been to me. Thanks again and I figured that you probably thought all the issues had been resolved and didn't need to respond to my last e-mail, so that's cool. PS. Checked out some screen shots of FF8. The in game renditionings of Shiva, Ifrit, and Siren weren't as well 'you know' as the player's guide implies with its artistic drawings. Guess you can't always judge a game by the player's guide. So, I went and bought the thing about a week ago. Currently on disk two, even I (stubborn as I might be at times) can change my beliefs with revelation of new facts. By the way, story-wise Shiva and Ifrit have always been my favorite common elements in the FF series--even more so than most of the characters. I've always wanted to see a game where they take a large part in the actual story as main characters. So, FFX was a step in the right direction for me rather than satisfaction of my criteria. I know, probably a little silly. Eh, but it's really just my subjectivity. Maybe you'll feel in the mood to review this chapter? Well, I can hope. I'll look forward to reading you comments whenever you do decide to review.


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